May 8th 2024
Regular users of the emergency department (ED) transiently reduced ED visits when faced with ED access barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What We’re Reading: Expanding Student Health Care; Depression Soars; RSV Vaccine for Infants
May 18th 2023The Biden administration said it will expand health care access, including mental health care, to students; depression reaches an all-time high in the United States; the FDA’s independent vaccine advisers are meeting to discuss the safety and effectiveness of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
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Black populations suffered 1.6 million excess deaths in the past 20 years, new studies find; the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sues to block Amgen from acquiring Horizon Therapeutics, citing 2 drugs that have no competition; cancer drug shortages are approaching an all-time high.
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Communication, Teamwork Can Foster Resilience, Says Dr Lee Norman
May 14th 2023The best leaders are those who foster open communication, says Lee A. Norman, MD, MHS, MBA, who appeared at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event on population health in Kansas City, Missouri.
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Removing the Taboo: Talking About Women’s Health Is the First Step to Improving Health Equity
May 9th 2023A panel on women’s health disparities at the 2023 Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit addressed the current challenges women face regarding health care as well as how digital tools, collaboration between clinics and governments, and more detailed and inclusive research can help improve health equity for all women.
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The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency spotlights US outbreak tracking weakness; the American Psychological Association released guidelines to guide teen social media use; the first study funded by the US government to measure safe injection site effectiveness was announced Monday.
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Study: Adding GLP1RA to T2D Therapy Linked With Lower MACE In Older Patients Without CVD
May 8th 2023Study authors said the findings could inform clinicians when selecting therapies for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, an editorial found the follow-up period too short and differences between the study arms too small to be meaningful.
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Cardinal Health's Naveen Mansukhani Details How Lowering Costs Is a Multi-Department Effort
May 3rd 2023Naveen Mansukhani, director of operations and account management of Retail Pharmacy Services at Cardinal Health, talks about how the responsibility for saving costs does not just fall on one department or person, but is collaborative and requires strategy.
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What We’re Reading: HPV Vaccine Protects for 3 Years; Alzheimer Drug Results; NY Birth Control Law
May 3rd 2023One dose of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) vaccine can prevent infection for at least 3 years, and maybe even longer; Eli Lilly plans to seek FDA approval for Alzheimer drug that slows decline; New York governor signed a bill expanding contraceptive access in the state next year.
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What We’re Reading: NY Dental Coverage Expands; Abortion Denial Broke Law; Masking Comes Undone
May 1st 2023A settled class-action lawsuit paves the way for 5 million New Yorkers on Medicaid to have expanded dental coverage; 2 hospitals broke federal law by denying a woman whose life was in danger an abortion; mask mandates in most health care settings are being lifted around the United States.
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Value-Based Care: Is It Possible for All Providers to Succeed?
April 29th 2023Craig D. Pederson, principal at Insight Health Care Partners, discussed the evolving landscape of value-based care and challenges to implementation from the provider perspective during his keynote presentation at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP) Spring Managed Care Forum 2023.
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Dr Jessica Allegretti: Major Advancements Being Explored for Prevention, Treatment of CDI
April 18th 2023Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, reviews emerging therapeutics being investigated for the prevention and treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).
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Dr Eva Parker Outlines Why Climate Change Has a Greater Health Impact on Marginalized Communities
April 12th 2023Not only are Black and Brown communities, as well as neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status, disproportionately impacted by climate change, but these communities are not as readily able to adapt to mitigate the impacts climate change has on health.
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Construction of a composite measure, use of a summary disparity statistic, and measure selection are key considerations in the design of equity-focused payment programs.
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Multilevel Influences on Patient Engagement and Chronic Care Management
Health systems may be better able to support adoption of chronic care management processes, which have a strong evidence base for practice implementation, compared with patient engagement strategies, which have less evidence to guide effective implementation.
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Dr Jessica Allegretti Addresses Rebyota Utilization, Access Considerations for Recurrent CDI
April 2nd 2023Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, speaks on current indications for Rebyota (fecal microbiota, live-jslm) in the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), as well as coverage and access-related implications for the drug.
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The FDA wants to discourage the use of single-arm trials for accelerated approvals of oncology drugs; Cigna’s review system allows doctors to reject claims without reading them, an investigation shows; US bishops want to restrict gender transition care in Catholic hospitals.
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Teamwork Measure Relates to Provider Experience, Burnout, and Intent to Stay
A 6-item teamwork measure with good construct validity correlated with favorable provider outcomes including work experience, burnout, and intent to stay with the organization.
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What Are Some Health Plan Best Practices Surrounding Oncology Therapy Coverage?
March 25th 2023In this AMCP Market Insights session, panelists discussed best practices and challenges when it comes to prescribing antibody drug conjugates, from the payer, provider, and patient perspectives, based on survey findings.
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Antibiotics Do Not Cut Death Risk in Hospitalized Patients With Viral Respiratory Illnesses
March 24th 2023Although adults hospitalized with COVID-19, the flu, or respiratory syncytial virus are often administered antibiotics, the drugs have no effect on reducing the risk of death, according to a new study.
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COA: An Advocacy Group Born in Crisis Looks Back at 20 Years
March 23rd 2023The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) retains the spirit of an upstart advocacy group, while working to look ahead at innovative technologies, care delivery trends, and other events that threaten independent practices, said oncology leaders while attending their annual meeting this week.
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Experts Call for a More Patient-Focused Approach to Prior Authorization
March 23rd 2023On the first full day of conference activity at AMCP 2023, a morning session examined prior authorization (PA) through a lens of refining the current process and the potential role of clinical trial data in PA criteria.
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Dr Jessica Allegretti on Prevention and Treatment Strategies for Primary, Recurrent CDI
March 21st 2023Jessica Allegretti, MD, MPH, medical director of the Crohn's and Colitis Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, discusses the standard of care for the prevention and treatment of primary and recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).
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Dangerous Drug-Resistant Yeast Infection Rising Across the US, CDC Says
March 20th 2023Candida auris was first reported in the United States in 2016; the highly contagious fungal infection has been labeled an “urgent threat” by the CDC, and its spread may have aided by underresourced public health systems.
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Dr Eva Parker: Climate Change Has Been Impacting Skin Diseases for Years
March 17th 2023Many people often don’t connect the dots between climate change and its impact on skin health, but these effects have been happening for years, said Eva R. Parker, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
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