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.
2018 ASCO Guideline Update: Fertility Preservation in Patients With Cancer
April 12th 2018ASCO last updated its guidelines on fertility preservation in 2013. Following the review of recent randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and clinical practice guidelines, the panel made no significant changes to the 2013 recommendations: 2 recommendations for adult women were updated, and several clarifications to other recommendations were made.
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Biohaven Announces Positive Results of Acute Migraine Treatment From Two Trials
April 11th 2018The pharmaceutical company announced that rimegepant, for the acute treatment of migraines, demonstrated superiority to placebo and met the co-primary endpoints of pain freedom and freedom from the most bothersome symptom in 2 pivotal phase 3 trials.
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National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day: Highlighting the Impact of Disease on the Age Group
April 10th 2018As April 10 marks National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, CDC and other organizations are highlighting the impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals aged 13 to 24, as they accounted for nearly one-fourth of all new HIV diagnoses in the United States in 2015.
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TCGA Completes Comprehensive Genomic Analysis of 33 Cancer Types
April 10th 2018After a decade of analyzing over 11,000 tumors from 33 types of cancer, the collaboration between the National Cancer Institute and National Human Genome Research Institute has launched the Pan-Cancer Atlas, providing a comprehensive understanding of 3 focus areas: cell-of-origin patterns, oncogenic processes, and signaling pathways.
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Pembrolizumab as First-Line Treatment Significantly Improves Overall Survival in NSCLC Trial
April 9th 2018Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) monotherapy as first-line treatment in locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) met its primary endpoint of overall survival in the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-042 trial when compared with standard of care platinum-based chemotherapy.
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Pembrolizumab Combination Fails to Meet Primary Endpoint in Melanoma Study
April 7th 2018The pivotal phase 3 ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study evaluating Incyte’s epacadostat in combination with Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma will be stopped after failing to meet its primary endpoint, according to a joint press release.
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Christie's Place: Bringing Together and Empowering Women With HIV
April 7th 2018Christie’s Place, a nonprofit social service organization, puts a large focus on social determinants of health to help their clients not only keep up with their medical care, but also improve their quality of life.
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Locations, Types, and Characteristics of Data Breaches in Hospitals
April 5th 2018As healthcare data breaches continue to rise, a team of researchers identified locations in hospitals where data are breached, the types of breaches that occur most often at hospitals, and hospital characteristics that may predict large data breaches that affect 500 or more patients.
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Home-Delivered Meals Keep Medicare, Medicaid Population Out of ED, Lower Costs
April 4th 2018With food insecurity attributing to $77 billion in excess healthcare expenditures annually, support services such as meal programs have been implemented. A study in Health Affairs found that meal delivery programs reduce the use of costly healthcare services, such as emergency department (ED) visits, and help cut costs for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
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Nongroup Enrollees Plan to Continue Purchasing Coverage Despite Repeal of Individual Mandate
April 3rd 2018Nine in 10 people with non-group health insurance will continue buying coverage despite the repeal of the individual mandate and express worry over future availability and price of health coverage, according to a health tracking poll from Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll also found that for the uninsured, the main reason for not purchasing coverage is that it is too expensive.
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Insight Into ASCO's Evaluation of Clinical Pathway Vendors
April 2nd 2018Following the American Society of Clinical Oncology's (ASCO's) evaluation of leading oncology clinical pathway vendors nationwide, an article in Journal of Clinical Pathways provided insight into the evaluation from 2 of the report's co-authors.
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As the opioid epidemic persists as a public health crisis in the United States, there has been growing concern the injection drug use will affect infectious disease, as it increases the risk of infections, such as HIV. A graphic series from Kaiser Family Foundation took a look at the interaction between the nation's HIV and opioid epidemics. Here are 5 take aways.
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The #AskTheHIVDoc series, launched by Greater Than AIDS in 2015, tackles frequently asked questions that patients at risk for or living with HIV want to know, should know, or are nervous to ask their doctors about. The series has also found usefulness among physicians and health groups.
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HIV Incidence, Prevalence Remain Highest in Men Who Have Sex With Men
March 22nd 2018While years of efforts to combat the HIV epidemic have resulted in major successes, progress in reducing infection among men who have sex with men has lagged as they remain the most affected population, according to a study in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Hospital Acquisition of Independent Physician Practices Continues to Increase
March 21st 2018Between July 2015 and July 2016, hospitals acquired 5000 independent physician practices, and the number of physicians employed by hospitals grew by 14,000, according to a report from Avalere Health and the Physicians Advocacy Institute.
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FDA Approves Brentuximab Vedotin for Frontline Treatment of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
March 21st 2018The FDA has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcentris) in combination with chemotherapy for adults with previously untreated state 3 or 4 classical Hodgkin lymphoma based on results of the ECHELON-1 study.
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Maryland All-Payer Hospital Model Reduces Costs, Lowers Readmissions
March 20th 2018In 2014, Maryland and CMS entered a 5-year agreement employing the All-Payer Hospital Model in the state to cut costs while improving quality. According to the year 3 performance data, Maryland has met or is on track to meet all model requirements, saving hundreds of millions of dollars as it lowers hospital readmissions and steers the state away from a volume-based system.
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CMS Finalizes Coverage for Next-Generation Sequencing Tests
March 17th 2018CMS has finalized a National Coverage Determination (NCD) that covers diagnostic laboratory tests that use Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) for patients with advanced cancer, according to a press release. The finalization comes a few months after the FDA granted approval to FoundationOne CDx, the first-of-a-kind comprehensive companion diagnostic test for solid tumors.
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Despite Increasing Rates of PrEP Usage, Disparities Remain Among African Americans, Latinos
March 17th 2018While rates of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) usage among Americans have significantly increased year over year since PrEP gained approval for HIV prevention in 2012, significant gaps exist among African Americans and Latinos, according to analyses from AIDSVu and the CDC.
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Ninety-three percent of hospitals and health systems enable patients to access their health data, interact with health data, and obtain health services, according to a report from the American Hospital Association. In a nationwide poll from Ernst & Young, consumers and physicians indicated that they want more digital interaction in healthcare.
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PCORI Reports Latest Findings From 5 of Their Funded Studies
March 15th 2018The Patient-Centered Outcomes Institute shared results of 5 recent publications summarizing results from their awardees. The studies included research on a decision aid for patients with heart failure, 2 different approaches to treating mental illness, and addressing chronic pain.
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Pembrolizumab Granted Priority Review for Treatment of Cervical Cancer
March 13th 2018The FDA has accepted a new supplemental Biologics License Application and granted Priority Review for Merck's pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer, marking the first filing acceptance for an anti–PD-1 therapy in cervical cancer.
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ICER Outlines Planned Review of Antiandrogen Therapies for nmCRPC
March 13th 2018The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) is requesting public comment on 3 antiandrogen therapies for nonmetastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC): abiraterone, enzalutamide, and apalutamide.
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Precision Health AI Launches Platform to Deliver Data-Driven Insights in Oncology
March 10th 2018Precision Health AI has launched Eureka Health, a platform that leverages electronic medical record data to provide artificial intelligence through more than 60 pretrained and learning-enhanced modules designed specifically for oncology.
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