
A recent survey showed the disruption in cancer care as a result of the pandemic is worrying professionals who provide psychosocial support to patients.
Jaime is a freelance writer for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®), where she previously worked as an assistant editor.
She has a BA in print journalism from Penn State University. You can connect with Jaime on LinkedIn.

A recent survey showed the disruption in cancer care as a result of the pandemic is worrying professionals who provide psychosocial support to patients.

Reporting on their findings in the British Journal of Haematology, researchers have used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to leverage p53 expression as an identifier of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients carrying mutations in tumor protein p53 (TP53), an indicator of poor prognosis in the disease.

A combination of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) relieved certain neurophysiological symptoms affecting patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS).

Advanced age, prolonged use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), and unsuccessful response to NIV are independent predictors for long-term mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a recent report.

Ruxolitinib plus etanercept showed positive results for the treatment of steroid-refractory severe acute graft-versus-host disease.

A long-term study of over 46 million Medicare beneficiaries found that emergency department (ED) visits for acute respiratory illnesses such as asthma or COPD sharply increased in the days before a major thunderstorm.

Compared with non-invasive ventilation (NIV), high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy carried less risk of treatment failure and had better tolerance and comfort among patients.

An adolescent boy went to his physician with a headache that got worse with physical activity. Testing showed autoimmune myelofibrosis.

A real-world study showed that ruxolitinib is a safe treatment for patients with myelofibrosis.

A new commentary outlines UK guidance about evidence regarding the appropriateness of blood component irradiation for preventing transfusion-associated graft-versus-host disease (TA-GVHD).

A risk prediction model based on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) variables outperformed other models when predicting mortality among patients with rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD).

Researchers found that cough reflex sensitivity is amplified during chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation and reduces after recovery, while its persistence can help serve as a predictor for future exacerbations.

Previous research has established acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in the gastrointestinal tract as the primary cause of both GVHD severity and mortality, and as a result, emphasis is placed on preventing acute gut GVHD while still preserving the graft-versus-leukemia effect of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Using data from 2 phase 2 trials, researchers were able to determine the peak inspiratory flow (PIF) repeatability limit, and show that the 2 highest of 3 PIF values met the repeatedly limit.

According to a new study, patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial disease (CTD-ILD) had significantly higher mortality rates and worse 10-year survival rates than patients who did not develop the complication.

In the last 3 months of life, health care costs were significantly lower for patients receiving multidisciplinary collaborative care than for patients receiving specialized care or nonspecialized care. The differences in costs were primarily driven by differences in hospitalizations and emergency department visits.

The researchers noted that these results can help inform therapeutic decision making and identify opportunities to address barriers to disease-modifying drug (DMD) adherence, which not only improves clinical outcomes but also reaps benefits when it comes to health care costs.

According to the study, vaporized cannabis, when compared with placebo, could be a safe and potentially effective way to address pain linked with sickle cell disease. While the decreases in pain were not statistically significant, the drug did significantly decrease pain interference in mood over a 5-day inpatient stay.

AJMC®TV interviews let you catch up on what’s new and important about changes in healthcare, with insights from key decision makers—from the clinician, to the health plan leader, to the regulator.

Speakers from major area cancer centers and Independence Blue Cross addressed progress in implementing value-based care initiatives during a session held September 19, 2019.

Speakers at the September 12, 2019, Policy Summit of the National Comprehensive Cancer Center, held in Washington, DC, addressed what practices have learned from experience with the Oncology Care Model and what steps must occur to standardize patient reported outcomes to incorporate them into reporting.

Mary Montgomery, MD, associate physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discussed emerging treatment strategies for managing HIV during a session at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians 2019 Fall Managed Care Forum, held October 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During a session at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians 2019 Fall Managed Care Forum being held October 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Kathryn Phillips, PhD, founding director of the University of California, San Francisco Center for Translational and Policy Research on Personalized Medicine (TRANSPERS), discussed the emergence and rise of genetic testing, the challenges of determining value and reimbursement, and what’s ahead for these tests.

As of November 2018, Medicaid is the largest healthcare program in the United States, covering 1 in 5 Americans, and over two-thirds of beneficiaries are enrolled in private managed care plans. Alongside this trend are shifts in care delivery under Medicaid, as well as challenges and solutions being posed by value-based care models, all of which was discussed during a session at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians 2019 Fall Managed Care Forum being held October 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During a session on population health management at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians 2019 Fall Managed Care Forum, held October 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Cary Shames, DO, CHCQM, ABQAURP, vice president and chief medical officer, Sharp Health Plan, discussed using an integrated population health model to drive better quality and satisfaction of care while lowering costs.

Value-based models continue to enter the healthcare system, affecting a variety of fields, including primary care. And while success stories have been shared by payers and CMS touts these models as a way to “save” primary care, that's not the current reality, said Theresa Hush, chief executive officer of Roji Health Intelligence, LLC, during a session on population health management at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians 2019 Fall Managed Care Forum, held October 10-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Once the bill goes into effect in January 2020, pharmacists will be able to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis for at least a 30-day supply and up to a 60-day supply and a complete course of post-exposure prophylaxis without a prescription.

If approved, pemigatinib would be the first targeted therapy for patients with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare cancer that impacts the bile ducts. The disease is often diagnosed at a late or advanced stage.

The FDA has approved Gilead’s second HIV prevention pill, Descovy, for at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kg, excluding those who are at risk of HIV due to vaginal sex because the efficacy of Descovy has not been assessed in this population.

The findings indicate that the initiation of tuberculosis preventive therapy isoniazid during pregnancy carries greater risk than initiation of the treatment during the postpartum period.