Citing “Perverse Incentives,” Harvard Medical School drops out of US news rankings
News reports report the decision of medical school No. 1 for research, Harvard Medical School, to withdraw from US News rankings — a decision made in part because the rankings result in creating “perverse incentives for institutions to report misleading or inaccurate data.”
The Boston Globe: Harvard Medical School withdraws from US world news and reports rankings
Harvard Medical School will no longer submit data to US News & World Report for use in its survey and rankings of “best medical schools,” the school said Tuesday. In a letter announcing the medical school would withdraw from the survey, George Q. Daley, dean of the school of medicine, said the rankings “may not meaningfully reflect high aspirations for educational excellence, preparedness of graduates and the compassionate and equitable patient care we strive to promote in our medical education programs.” (Mogg, 1/17)
The Washington Post: Harvard Medical School withdraws from US news rankings
Harvard Medical School is ranked number one in the country for research by US News. … Among several top medical schools the Washington Post contacted on Tuesday, none revealed immediate plans to follow the lead of their counterparts at Harvard. Some have refused to take sides. The Johns Hopkins University medical school is still sending information to US News, a Johns Hopkins Medicine spokesperson said, “but, as we do every year, we will consider our future participation.” (Svrluga & Anderson, 1/17)
In hospital news –
The Boston Globe: Workers at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital stage a walkout
Workers at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain staged a walkout Tuesday to demand higher wages and job security amid six-month union contract negotiations. Those who attended are among the hospital’s lowest-wage employees, including personal care assistants, service technicians, dieters, housekeepers, mental health workers, and administrative staff—many earning just $15.45 a year. Now. (1/17)
Modern Healthcare: AAMC/HRSA data shows shortages of primary care and mental health physicians
The mismatch between supply and demand is, in part, due to a large variation in pay. Average starting salaries for primary care physicians and psychiatrists were about half the average starting salaries for orthopedic surgeons and interventional cardiologists last year, according to data from the medical research firm Merritt Hawkins. (Kacik, 1/17)
St. Louis Public Radio: St. Louis Children’s Hospital reports an increase in gunshot wounds
More and more children and adolescents in St. Louis are being treated at Children’s Hospital for gunshot wounds since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a study by Washington University and the University of Missouri. Using emergency room data between 2015 and 2022, the researchers found that the average number of people under 19 treated for gunshot wounds in hospital emergency rooms increased by more than 50 percent in the first two pandemic years. They found that the additional injuries were driven in part by an increase in assaults and homicides. (Fentem, 1/18)
AP: Prosecutor: The paramedics killed a man by tying him face down
Two Illinois paramedics are facing first-degree murder charges, having been charged with tying a patient face down on a gurney as they carried him to the hospital last month. Illinois authorities filed charges against Peggy Finley and Peter Cadigan on Jan. 9, nearly a month after the death of 35-year-old Earl Moore. Under Illinois law, a first-degree murder charge can be filed when a defendant “knows that such acts create a strong likelihood of death or serious bodily harm.” (Good Food, 1/17)
In other healthcare industry news –
Axios: AI could one day make medical decisions instead of your doctor
Generative AI giant ChatGPT is getting a lot smarter when it comes to healthcare. Many diagnoses and clinical decisions could one day be made by machines, rather than human physicians. ChatGPT recently passed all three parts of the US medical licensing exam, albeit narrowly, as part of a recent research experiment. (Primack, 1/18)
NPR: A Guide to the 9 Global Buzzwords for 2023, From “Polycrisis” to “Zero-Dose Babies”
We are having a polycrisis. The pandemic has resulted in too many zero-dose children. Charities don’t always succeed in the asphalt to the arm. These are some of the global buzzwords you’re likely to hear in early 2023. Sometimes the buzzwords are easy to understand. It’s not that hard to understand that a polycrisis is worse than a monocrisis. (Connelly, 1/17)
KHN: Largest and liveliest conference for healthcare investors meets amid fears bubble will burst
Healthcare business class returned to its San Francisco sanctuary last week for JPMorgan’s annual healthcare conference, at the gilded Westin St. Francis hotel on Union Square. After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the atmosphere among the executives, bankers and startup founders in attendance had the aura of a reunion, as they gossiped about promotions, work-from-home routines, who gets what investments. Dressed in their capitalist best – ranging from bright blue or pastel purple blazers to chic coats – they flocked to big parties, hosted in art galleries or restaurants. But the party was tinged with a new anxiety: Would the big money invested in health care because of covid-19 keep flowing? Would investors demand to see results, i.e. profits, rather than just interesting ideas? (Tahir, 1/17)