Homelessness Compounds Hospital Stay Challenges: Study Reveals Prolonged Discharge Struggles
March 28th 2024In this investigation, outcomes of interest were morbidity rate and length of hospital stay or a traumatic injury among a homeless population, and whether age and/or injury severity had an influence on that relationship—with implications for improving the discharge process for these patients.
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FDA Approves Vadadustat for Anemia in Patients With CKD Undergoing Dialysis
March 28th 2024The FDA approved vadadustat (Vafseo), an oral medication, to treat anemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis for at least 3 months. This fills a need for a new treatment option as anemia is common in these patients and can significantly impact their quality of life.
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Risk for Second Primary Melanoma Increases After Primary Melanoma Diagnosis as Men Age
March 28th 2024A population-based cohort study out of Norway has found that older men have a higher risk of developing second primary invasive melanoma following an initial primary melanoma, suggesting the benefits of increased surveillance in these patients.
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The Promise of Frexalimab in MS: Part 3
March 28th 2024Patrick Vermersch, MD, PhD, University of Lille, France details the adverse events observed in the frexalimab trials and the next steps necessary to establish frexalimab as a standard of care in multiple sclerosis (MS) in the third and final part of an interview.
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Wearable Activity Tracker Data Enhance Patient Assessment in Lung Cancer
March 28th 2024This analysis included 119 patients with advanced lung cancer, who were evaluated on 3 facets of physical activity over 14 days of using the amuelink wearable device from Sony: metabolic equivalent tasks, distance walked, and steps taken.
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CMS released a final rule to help patients obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage and issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities; debate over if gift card incentives are acceptable in health care marketing.
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Alopecia Areata Impacts Patient Perception, Quality of Life
March 27th 2024Patients with alopecia areata (AA) often perceive their hair loss as more severe than dermatologists do, leading to increased emotional and social problems. This study highlights the importance of understanding patient perception for better treatment and improved quality of life.
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The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone; the FDA is inspecting far fewer pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical research; AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand the 340B program to include for profit-pharmacy chains.
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Poor Well-Being Scores Linked to Early Treatment Stoppage in Multiple Myeloma
March 27th 2024Investigators used the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General General Physical Wellbeing Scale to collect data on patient-reported treatment-related adverse effects, to provide clinicians guidance on predicting risk of early treatment discontinuation among ECOG-ACRIN E1A11 trial participants.
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The Pivotal Role of Payers in Improving Health Equity, Maternal Health Care in the US
March 26th 2024A presentation at the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health's 2024 Women’s Health Summit discussed how payers, including employers and public entities, can strategically influence health care purchasing to prioritize maternal health and equity.
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Exploring Medicare Advantage Prior Authorization Variations
March 26th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the March 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on variations in prior authorization use across Medicare Advantage plans.
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