The life expectancy of the average American dropped by 2 years in 2020, but by only a few months in peer countries. This discrepancy gets worse when you adjust for sex, race, and ethnicity. This is despite the fact that the US spends the most money on healthcare in the world. How do we get such poor health outcomes with such high spending? More
A top ten list of the worst examples of profiteering and dysfunction in health care, named for Martin Shkreli, the price-hiking "pharma bro" that everyone loves to hate. More
Every 80 seconds, a hospital in the U.S. delivers a low-value test or procedure to an older adult, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of harm, according to a new analysis from the Lown Institute, a health care think tank. The Institute today released a ranking of over 3,100 U.S. hospitals that examines success at avoiding the use of tests and procedures that offer little to no clinical benefit. More
Shannon Brownlee will be stepping down from her leadership role as senior vice president effective April 1 in order to pursue writing and artistic endeavors. “Being a part of the Lown Institute leadership has truly been one of the most rewarding times of my professional career,” said Brownlee. More
On January 1, a new CMS rule on hospital price transparency went into effect. What does the new regulation do? How could it affect the cost of care? And are hospitals complying? Shannon and Vikas answer these questions on this week’s Lown Hospitals Q&A. More
A group of independent doctors spoke out in 2019 against what they saw as a potentially harmful recommendation that was influenced by financial conflicts of interest. Now it appears that the independent doctors' advocacy has helped to change that recommendation. More
The Lown Institute announces the election of Mary T. Bassett and Chris Kryder to its Board of Directors. Patricia Gabow, an existing board member, has been elected chair. More
The crisis of Covid-19 created new opportunities for exploitation by this year’s greedy and misguided “winners.” More
Eleven years ago, Julie Martinez decided not to have her thyroid removed after a small nodule was discovered. In an update to her story, Julie shares what has happened since then. More
Why do so few patients access their medical records electronically? It's not because they don't want to do so, write patient advocates in Health Affairs. More
Lown Institute just released Eliminating Medication Overload: A National Action Plan. More
A new study finds that even the "best" hospitals in the nation commonly offer unnecessary cardiovascular screening tests to wealthy patients. More
Pediatric professional groups have known for years that certain tests and procedures are unnecessary and potentially harmful. Yet one in ten children receive low-value care, according to a recent study. More
The Boston Globe highlights the problem of medication overload and provides a sneak peek of the upcoming Lown action plan. More
As AI becomes more popular in health care, clinicians and patients should take the opportunity to learn about how the potential risks of these products. More
These health care actors didn't win a Shkreli Award, but they deserve a "dishonorable mention" for their profiteering and unethical behavior. More
In a recent article in The BMJ, members of the Right Care Alliance Emergency Medicine council outline ways in which clinicians can bring "value, balance and humanity to the emergency department." More
Are hospitals expanding to the United Arab Emirates as part of their humanitarian mission? Or are they "looking for mission where the money is"? More
A recent piece in The Guardian threatens an NHS effort to reduce overuse by framing it as "rationing." More
An obvious way to reduce preventable harm in the hospital is to warn clinicians about harmful events before they happen. But the prevalence of alarms in the hospital, from medical equipment and EHRs, creates unintended consequences for clinician and patient well-being. More