AJMC Staff

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was linked with cardiovascaluar issues and cardiac arrest; African Americans were shown to have higher rates of infection and death due to COVID-19; health experts call for smokers to cease use and manufacturers to halt production.

Welcome to Paper of the Week, which looks back at research and commentary of the past 25 years in The American Journal of Managed Care® and why it matters today.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Drugs used by hospitals to intubate and treat patients with COVID-19 are in short supply; rapid tests will be sent to Native American, rural populations; data shows a rise in nonfatal drug overdoses between 2016 and 2017.

A record number of Americans filed for unemployment last week; President Trump decides not to reopen Affordable Care Act enrollment; a survey found a majority of physicians say they cannot test for COVID-19 fast enough.

Alteon Health will be reducing benefits to doctors and nurses helping to fight coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); the Pentagon has 2000 ventilators it does not know where to send; blood donation centers will soon start collecting plasma from COVID-19 survivors.

New York hospitals face budget cuts totaling nearly $400 million; Ford Motor and General Electric announce plans to produce 50,000 ventilators in 100 days; federal judges deal setbacks to Republican governors hoping to claim abortion is a nonessential medical procedure amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

The reasons behind coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing lags; FDA issues emergency authorization of malaria drugs for treatment of COVID-19; an expert from the University of Washington predicts that there could be at least 1 more extension of social distancing, beyond President Trump's announcement extending coronavirus guidelines to April 30.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

A new study reveals severe depression in minority patients; Louisiana faces a surge of COVID-19 cases; New York state adjusts its medical workforce to combat rising cases.

The bill includes $100 billion for hospitals; some are concerned that the bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, does not go far enough, particularly for Medicaid.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield has temporarily waived its "actively at work" requrement for group policies; Native American populations, some of the nation's most vulerable, are ill-equipped to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic; rates of sexually transmitted infections increase among pregnant women.

The FDA issues safety alerts for EpiPen and EpiPen Jr Auto-Injectors; we should be drinking more water to reduce the effects of increased sugar intake; experts suggest actively working to protect mental health while on lockdown.

The FDA called it “a historic day” as insulin and certain other biologic drugs transitioned to a different regulatory pathway.

The FDA Tuesday cleared a new dose of Samsung Bioepis’ trastuzumab biosimilar Ontruzant, which is yet to be launched in the United States. The approval is for a 420-mg multidose vial of Ontruzant. The biosimilar was first approved as a 150-mg single-dose vial by the FDA in January 2019 across all indications for the reference product, Herceptin.

The International Olympic Committee postpones the 2020 games slated for this summer; the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) urges Congress for increased protection and support for medical practices; AHIP will allow its member payers to transfer patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from hospitals to other clinical settings, if appropriate, without prior authorization.

Nurses are voicing their concern about the lack of protective gear in caring patients with or suspected of having COVID-19; the FDA warned that new at-home tests in the marketplace for coronavirus disease, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, have not been approved; US jails and prison systems have begun to allow the release of inmates who have commited petty crimes and those potentially at-risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Experts provide recommendations for women expecting to give birth during the coronavirus epidemic; ICE announced that a New Jersey employee tested positive for coronavirus; mental health and addiction recovery groups are transitioning to online services.

Worries grow as officials prepare to stem the spread of coronavirus among the nation’s homeless population; the American College of Physcians launched a new telemedicine guide; a study found the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, in addition to chemotherapy, may help treat cervical cancer.

To optimize use of biologics for asthma, greater attention should be paid to adherence, according to an abstract prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Two studies discussed the feasibility of different parameters for the infusion of a product for patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder in abstracts prepared for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Is it cost-effective to prescribe epinephrine to every patient on allergen immunotherapy (AIT)? Does AIT have an impact on healthcare costs? These and other issues were included among the research prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Amazon has decided to suspend nonessential item shipments; study results show patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) benefited from a fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol combination inhaler; disruptions from the coronavirus now extend to proposed mergers among industry giants.

The Trump administration asked Congress for billions in COVID-19 assistance for Americans while a report said government responses in both the United States and the United Kingdom were suddenly being influenced by a grim analysis forecasting half a million to over 2 million deaths if the virus is allowed to run rampant without nonpharmaceutical interventions—ie, social isolation.

High infusion parameters for pump-assisted and manual push 20% subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg), or IgPro20, were well tolerated by patients with primary immunodeficiency disorder (PID), according to a recent abstract prepared for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting.

Included among the abstracts prepared and published for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2020 Annual Meeting are several that looked at the clinical and psychosocial factors that complicate asthma in pediatric patients. A few are highlighted here.

Adolescents who have had family members deported or detained were linked with poor psychological outcomes; AstraZeneca's phase 3 CASPIAN trial failed to meet its primary endpoint; tips on how to destress when you feel overwhelmed.

Children were found to exhibit distinct type 1 diabetes endotypes compared with older adolescents; DNA testing has shown to be beneficial but controversial when personlizing care for patients with breast cancer; artifical intelligence (AI) usage across healthcare.

The most popular stories of the week on AJMC®.