A recent Reuters investigation found that a campaign to lower the A1c target for diabetes was driven largely by pharmaceutical companies, to create a bigger market for their new blood sugar-lowering drugs. More
How can we improve hospital cost efficiency to get better outcomes for a lower cost? Watch the video recording of our launch event to see the discussion. More
A recent study examines insurer-negotiated prices for ten expensive drugs at the 20 top US News & World Report hospitals. More
First-ever ranking examines costs at 3,000 hospitals, identifying $8 billion in potential Medicare savings BOSTON, MA — A new analysis identifies the most cost-efficient hospitals in America and highlights how potentially billions of dollars could be saved in the nation’s Medicare program. The analysis from the Lown Institute, a health care think tank, uncovered big […] More
Has pharma cracked the secret code to profit through cancer drugs? A recent study takes a closer look at the impact of cancer drug prices on pharma revenues. More
“The financial realities for hospitals are at odds with other things we might want hospitals to do,” study co-creator Shannon Brownlee said during the release of the Lown Institute Index for Social Responsibility. “The real goal is to start seeing hospitals in a different light.” Dr. Vikas Saini, the Lown Institute president, said the rankings are not designed for consumers to decide where to schedule their next elective procedure, but rather for informed citizens to think about the public good hospitals ought to provide in exchange for the tax benefits and privileged status they receive in the community. “We want them to think about these rankings more like: ‘What kind of health care system do we have, and is that the one I want for myself, my community and my country?’” Dr. Saini said. “I don’t think we want a system that has no soul, even if we live forever.” More
When examining 3,641 private nonprofit hospitals for its rankings, Lown looked beyond the usual metrics used to evaluate hospitals. It sought to encourage these organizations to be more responsible and accountable to the communities they serve, said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of Lown Institute. “The reason our rankings matter is because, as citizens, all of us have a huge stake in how high quality, how affordable and how just our health care system is,” Saini said. “We’re reporting measures that do all of that.” More
Only 75 hospitals achieved an “A” grade across all three categories used to determine social responsibility: equity, value and outcomes. None of the top 20 U.S. News & World Report hospitals made the honor roll, despite scoring well for value and outcomes. More
Only one California hospital ranked among the 10 most socially responsible hospitals in the United States: Tiny Oroville Hospital, which landed at No. 4 this year on the Lown Institute Hospitals Index. The hospital serves a large number of Medi-Cal beneficiaries and patients with low education levels, according to the report released Tuesday by the Lown Institute, while also excelling at preventing patient errors and re-admissions, keeping mortality rates low and quality clinical outcomes and running an efficient operation. More
The Cleveland Clinic, the second-best hospital in the nation as ranked by U.S. News and World Report, ranks so poorly in equity metrics that it failed to crack the United States' top 500 hospitals when "social responsibility" was taken into account. More