Splendor in the "grassroots advocacy"

The Lown Institute has a remarkable history. I invite you to read more about the institute and Dr Lown and to engage in grassroots advocacy to support the sustained mission. Dr. Lown is Professor Emeritus at the Harvard School of Public Health and senior physician (ret.) at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is the founder of the Lown Cardiovascular Group and is the Chairman Emeritus of the Lown Institute.Dr. Lown graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Maine, and received his MD from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. He and his wife Louise have three children and five grandchildren.

LOWN INSTITUTE

Our Strategy

Our strategy is to build a grassroots social movement representing an alliance of health professionals, religious and community groups, and the general public. This movement’s goal: to advocate for a transformation of the healthcare system and for a redirection of resources currently being wasted in healthcare towards promoting community health and redressing health disparities.

The movement, called the RightCare Alliance, was formed in 2013. We are currently recruiting clinicians, nurses, students, and trainees into a national health professionals’ network to develop a critique of the current system and share our perspective with others to learn from them. Our ultimate goal is to engage the public through events intended to foster democratic dialogue about health and healthcare, and to help communities envision a better system, and then advocate for the necessary change. Our long term vision is for local control of healthcare delivery and for mechanisms that can return currently wasted resources back to communities to support spending that promotes health.

Why Now?

The next few years will see unprecedented consolidation of hospitals and physician groups, wielding enormous economic power and social and political influence. Without a grassroots movement advocating for the health needs of patients and communities, these mega-institutions are unlikely to invest in the policies and infrastructure that best serve the interests of the community.

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In a post on the Lown Institute website,  titled, "We’re treating lab results–not patients" Margie Coloian interviews Allen Frances, MD,  a professor emeritus of psychiatry and the former chair at Duke University. I have posted a relevant response to a question that has stakeholders shifting chairs on the Titanic. Please follow the link above to read the entire interview.

Who will lead the charge to transform healthcare?

"The Lown Institute, along with Choosing Wisely, the BMJ, the “true believers.” They’re all taking the lead on this. The Lown Institute, in particular, is terrific. But I think the main hope for change won’t come from the true believers like Lown. It’s the public. The public needs to know that going to the doctor might not be helpful. They should be aware of the misleading information and incentives of doctors, drug and device makers. We all must play a crucial role in providing good information to the public."

As a seasoned medical writer that has written within and for industry these words resonated with me and realigned my writing career towards grassroots advocacy and open discourse. I will be traveling to the conference and will be sharing insights, interviews, and the latest advocacy efforts here. If you have content needs that would benefit from these game-changing discussions please link to the agenda and reach out to me for your bespoke content..