This DEBrief summarizes the findings of an IDB Invest study conducted together with Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Brazil that compared the mortality rates of COVID-19 patients treated in Einstein-managed public hospitals to those of patients with similar characteristics treated in other public hospitals in São Paulo. 

The results show that Einstein-managed public hospitals had significantly lower mortality rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the second wave of the disease and when bed occupancy rates were highest. 

These results underscore the effectiveness and resilience of Einstein’s management strategies in coping with the pandemic, particularly during periods of peak strain on the healthcare system. 

They also signal the potential application of learning from the first wave leading to better outcomes in the second wave.