VIDEO: New research on hospital overuse
We're excited to share our new research on hospital overuse just published in JAMA Network Open! More
Medical device industry spends more on physician payments than pharma
A recent study finds that medical device companies spend more than pharma on payments to physicians, but spend it in different ways. More
Clinicians consistently overestimate disease risk, study finds
Clinicians should know the rough probability of a patient having a certain disease based on their symptoms and test results. Yet health care practitioners are not as good as you might expect at predicting patients' disease risk, a new study finds. More
For new Lown intern, personal experience inspired a career in public health
Lown Institute intern Emily Acker has had more interactions with the health care system than the typical young adult. Here's how that has informed her experience as a public health advocate and researcher. More
Researchers speak out on racism and medical publishing
After an editor at a major medical journal dismissed the idea of structural racism, researchers say his views are symptomatic of larger problems in health research. More
Are nonprofit hospitals contributing their fair share of financial assistance?
A recent study looks at patterns of charity care spending at public, private, and for-profit hospitals, and finds some interesting results... More
From trials to real world: Implementing deprescribing
Stopping harmful medications sounds simple, but it can be much harder in practice. How can we take what we've learned from deprescribing trials and scale them up? Dr. Justin Turner explains in a webinar hosted by the US Deprescribing Research Network. More
To stop overuse, we have to focus on and measure the harms
In a recent piece in the BMJ, Shannon Brownlee and Deborah Korenstein argue that if we want to move the needle overuse, we have to make overuse an issue of preventable harm, not just waste. More
Value-based care has an equity problem
Two recent studies in JAMA find that hospitals and clinicians caring for high proportions of people of color get punished in our current value-based payment programs. More
Does higher hospital CEO compensation mean better quality?
There's nothing wrong with paying a hospital leader for doing a good job, especially in a crisis. But when compensation goes into the millions we have to ask, are we getting what we pay for? More
“What we’ve seen should be a wake-up call to everybody”: Lown leaders discuss needed changes in healthcare
On the Race to Value podcast, Vikas Saini and Shannon Brownlee discuss Dr. Lown's legacy, trust as high-value care, hospital coordination, and much more. More
One in three Covid-19 deaths may be linked to health insurance gaps
A recent report from Families USA finds that uninsurance was associated with 44% of Covid-19 infections and 32% of deaths in the US. More
New lung cancer screening guideline comes with many caveats
The USPSTF's expanded screening guidelines bring up important questions of screening harms and benefits, generalizing clinical trial results, and the impact of screening on health disparities. More
Can we put a ceiling on hospital prices?
In JAMA, Michael Chernew and Maximilian Pany argue that a price cap on the higher end of hospital prices would save tens of billions. More
Covid-19 conflicts of interest go beyond pharma
Dr. Vivek Murthy, Biden's pick for surgeon general, was recently found to have accepted significant consulting payments from private companies. Should this disqualify him from the position? More
The principles that drove Bernard Lown
In a profile in The BMJ, journalist Jeanne Lenzer highlights some of the important times Dr. Lown took a stand, and what this stubbornness cost him. More
How pharmacists can be deprescribing heroes
How can we remove the barriers and make pharmacists our deprescribing heroes? In their recent piece in Senior Care Pharmacist, Judith Garber and Don Downing create a roadmap for collaboration. More
“We cannot sit on the sidelines”: Lancet Commission publishes report on public health under Trump
The final report from the Lancet Commission on Public policy and health in the Trump era offers a bold policy agenda for the Biden administration to undo the damage caused to our nation's health. More
Overuse in Medicare slow to change, study finds
A recent analysis in JAMA finds that overuse in Medicare barely budged from 2014-2018. How can we move further toward value-based care? More
Vaccine distribution effort falls behind on equity
Ever since Covid-19 vaccines have been in development, policy experts and activists have been concerned about equity in vaccine distribution. Now, it is clear that in our haste to get "shots in arms," we are leaving behind many people who are most at risk of Covid-19 infection and death. More