Allison Inserro

The FDA approved the first radioactive drug, or radiopharmaceutical, to treat a rare type of cancer that affects the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract called gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). Lutathera (lutetium Lu 177 dotatate) is cleared for adult patients with somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs.

A new report from the National Quality Forum (NQF) outlines a systematic approach to address how to coordinate the unmet health needs of patients in the areas of food and housing—areas that ultimately affect care outcomes. The guidance for Medicaid programs is targeted at advancing efforts to collect and use data about individuals’ social needs and increase collaboration between communities and healthcare providers to improve beneficiaries’ health.

In its first birth defect surveillance report about the Zika virus, the CDC said Thursday there was a 21% increase in certain birth defects “strongly linked” to the virus in the areas most affected by local transmission: south Florida, south Texas, and Puerto Rico. The CDC said it continues to recommend that pregnant women not travel to areas with risk of Zika, including US areas with endemic transmission. It also said healthcare providers should remain vigilant about these possible outcomes.

Enough moderate Democrats joined Republicans in the Senate to approve President Donald Trump's choice of Alex Azar to be HHS secretary 55-43. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, praised Azar's experience in the public and private sector, while Democrats who voted no were concerned about his committment to the Affordable Care Act and reigning in drug prices. Azar replaces Tom Price, MD, who resigned in September 2017.

Rising prices, especially for prescription drugs, surgery, and emergency department visits, caused overall healthcare spending in 2016 to grow faster than at any time in the last 5 years; however, Americans used the same amount or less healthcare in 2016 compared with 2015, according to a report by the Health Care Cost Institute.

Novartis' calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitor for prevention of migraine, erenumab, showed positive results in a phase 3b study in episodic migraine patients who have failed multiple prior preventive treatments.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was funded for 6 years, through fiscal year (FY) 2023, under a deal worked out between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York.

The CDC reported recently that the percentage of privately insured reproductive-age women who filled a prescription for a medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) soared 344% from 2003 (0.9%) to 2015 (4.0%).

A study released Monday found the Affordable Care Act (ACA) helped lower average out-of-pocket spending (OOP) overall, mainly because of reductions in spending among people eligible for the Medicaid expansion and cost-sharing and premium subsidies on the insurance exchanges. However, premium spending rose, mostly, because of large increases for those with higher incomes, said Anna Goldman, MD, MPA, one of the authors of the JAMA Internal Medicine study.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a recognized disorder affecting both children and adults, but what is known about ADHD when it affects older adults, especially those nearing retirement age or those who are already retired? Kathleen G. Nadeau, PhD, is surveying this special population for research for an upcoming book. Nadeau, a psychologist in Maryland, spoke about this issue at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the administration will review the so-called Stark Law, which was enacted to prevent independent physicians from referring Medicare patients to facilities where they have a financial benefit.

President Donald Trump may have inched the government closer to a federal shutdown when he tweeted Thursday morning that the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)—the program that funds healthcare for millions of low-income children—should be part of a long-term solution and not part of a short-term spending bill.

Patients having total knee arthroplasty treated with liposomal bupivacaine were discharged to their homes sooner and had a significantly shorter hospital stay compared with patients who did not receive the drug during surgery, according to a recently published study looking at the value and cost effectiveness of the drug.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced new steps Tuesday to address the growing shortage of supplies related to IV saline fluids in the wake of the damage to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, including asking companies to submit data to extend expiration dates. The tight supply of saline products has been worsened by an increased demand for saline as a result of the worse-than-typical flu season.

Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but not all smokers develop the condition, and many non-smokers do. Why that is has remained a mystery until now, as a research team, funded by the National Institutes of Health, has discovered genetic variations in the anatomy of the lungs could serve as early-warning indicators.

Can improved research designs answer questions that come up between doctors and patients, like better understanding the risks and benefits of prescription medicine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Brian M. D'Onofrio, PhD, presented about translational epidemiology in a talk called The Risks and Benefits of ADHD: A Pharmacoepidemiologic Perspecitive to answer those questions at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD).

Psychologist J. Russell Ramsay, PhD, presented at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders about his model for understanding and treating adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in his session, "Intentions into Actions: CBT for Adult ADHD."

During the welcome and opening plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD), 3 speakers gave an overview of different models of cognitive and neural processes that underlie the symptoms, impairments, and medication treatment models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Using a large database created by a center for actuarial studies, a psychologist and researcher is positing that people with the worst cases of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will see a 25-year reduction in life expectancy, according to a presentation made Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders.

A large proportion of caregivers with children and adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD) perceived that the burden of illness remained high even if the children are on current prescription drug therapy, according to a poster presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders in Washington, DC.

Asthma costs the U.S. economy more than $80 billion annually in medical expenses, days missed from work and school, and deaths, according to research published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. However, actual numbers are likely to be higher, according to CDC researchers who conducted the study.

Researchers reported results where they tested performance on a theoretically-based probabilistic decision-making video simulation in adults with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study examined the relationship between experimental risk taking and history of real-life, risk-taking substance use behavior. Both groups showed similar patterns of risk taking, but adults with ADHD had more history and use of substance use and abuse.

Adfinitas Health, the largest private hospitalist group in the Mid-Atlantic region, describes how its first acquisition complements its advanced pactice provider (APP) staffing model as it looks to continued opportunities in 2018.

AstraZeneca’s epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, osimertinib (Tagrisso), is on the fast track in 2018 to become a first-line treatment for adult patients with locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR mutations.

A recent study from Australia found that the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms was associated with an increased risk of persisting neck pain and disability in motor vehicle crash survivors with whiplash injuries.

Federal budget watchdogs have drastically lowered their estimate of what it will take to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) because of 3 factors related to tax law changes affecting the Affordable Care Act at the end of last year that basically make it cheaper to insure children through CHIP than through insurance marketplaces.

Dry eye was found to be a comorbid pain condition among US veterans, raising the suggestion that pain specialists screen for this disorder in their chronic pain patients, researchers reported recently.

What's in store for the 2018 healthcare landscape? The buzzwords for the year include flexibility, innovation, and data across a number of areas.

Scientists have found a possible link between maternal cholesterol levels and the risk of attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, with boys being more susceptible to the effect than girls.

Researchers have made a key discovery that could pave the way to designing an improved opioid to relieve pain without the risk of addiction and side effects.