REGISTER: Webinar on Unnecessary Back Surgery

Low-back pain is incredibly prevalent, affecting one quarter of US adults at any given time. However, some interventions to treat back pain have been shown to have no clinical benefit compared to placebo–putting hundreds of thousands at risk of unnecessary harm.

How many procedures are being done unnecessarily and at what cost? Which hospitals and systems are best and worst at avoiding this overuse? What does this kind of overuse look like in your state? Attend to get to the bottom of these questions and more.

Featured Panelists

Claire Brockbank is the director of policy and strategy for the 32BJ Health Fund, which insures almost 200,000 people. In her work, she focuses on efforts to drive down hospital prices through public policy, operational innovation, and direct interaction with hospitals. Claire holds a master’s degree in health policy and management from Harvard University.

Sohail Mirza, MD, MPH, is a nationally-known orthopaedic surgeon specializing in complex spinal diseases, cancers, and injuries, with a special research interest in spinal biomechanics and surgery. He is currently a Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. Dr. Mirza holds a MD from the University of Colorado and a MPH from the University of Washington.

Vikas Saini, MD, president of the Lown Institute, is a clinical cardiologist trained by Dr. Bernard Lown at Harvard. Dr. Saini is an expert on the optimal medical management of cardiologic conditions, medical overuse, hospital performance and evaluation, and health equity. He has spoken and presented research at professional meetings around the world, and has been quoted in numerous print media, radio, and television.

About the Lown Index

The Lown Institute Hospitals Index is the first ranking to define clear, measurable standards for hospital social responsibility. We examine performance across three core areas: Outcomes, Value, and Equity.

This webinar will be focused on our “avoiding overuse” metric, specifically spinal fusion and/or laminectomy and vertebroplasty procedures.

While most rankings measure just patient outcomes, the Lown Index takes into account the full breadth of what hospitals do as care providers, employers, and community partners. By setting these benchmarks, we seek to shine a light on those hospitals that provide exceptional, high-value patient care to all who need it in their community–and encourage all hospitals to follow their example.