Laura Joszt, MA

Although infection prevention programs require ongoing investments, the money spent is worthwhile considering the costs saved as healthcare-associated infection rates fall, according to a study in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Outcomes for certain cardiac arrest patients were better for those admitted to teaching hospitals during national cardiology meetings compared with patients admitted on non-meeting days, according to a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Year of birth has a larger impact on obesity than genes alone, according to an analysis of the relationship between body mass index and an obesity-related gene variant.

Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have developed a tool to test how well a doctor delivers patient-centered care by assessing whether medical students have learned and are applying the correct behaviors.

A large majority of people who selected health insurance plans through HealthCare.gov during the first month of open enrollment for 2015 will receive financial assistance for their monthly premiums, according to HHS.

Patients have a naïve optimism about medical care. A new study in JAMA found that patients have an unrealistic expectation of the benefits and harms of common medical treatments, tests, and screens.

Only a few states have readily available information on the quality of physician care, according to the second annual State Report Card on Transparency of Physician Quality Information from the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute.

Simply increasing access to care is not enough to improve the health of patients with diabetes mellitus as a new study in JAMA has also associated the difficulty of paying for food and medications with poor diabetes control.

With 2014 coming to a close, The American Journal of Managed Care is taking a look back at the most popular articles from this year. These most-read articles highlight the healthcare issues most important to providers, insurers, and policy makers.

After website glitches stole the spotlight during the first open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act, CMS hired Accenture to fix HealthCare.gov. Now, the consulting firm has been awarded a 5-year, $563 million contract to continue working on the website.

Improved and standardized reporting across healthcare organizations is needed to better understand the impact of health information technology (IT) on adverse events, according to a report from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

Consumers remain very confused about their health insurance coverage, but the federal government is looking to provide a better understanding of benefits for consumers shopping for coverage.

Gilead Sciences' hepatitis C drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni are the poster children for out-of-control drug costs, but competition from AbbVie's drug may place downward pressure on these prices.

Researchers at Stanford University found that when CMS stopped paying for 2 preventable, hospital-acquired conditions in particular, the incidence of the conditions dropped 35% in the Medicare population.

Consumers, administrators, primary care physicians and specialists all agree: they do not think that the healthcare system is on the right track, according to a study from Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs.

Marketplace health insurance premiums across the nation did not increase from 2014 to 2015. However, while the overall costs were flat, some states did see substantial average premium increases, which were offset by declines in other states.

Anthem, Inc, increased its managed care footprint in the state of Florida. On Monday, the company has entered into an agreement to acquire Simply Healthcare Holdings, Inc.

Nearly half of the patients who had access to electronic medical records withheld clinically sensitive information from some or all of their healthcare providers, according to a new study.

Comprehensive care compared with usual care for high-risk children with chronic illness reduced total hospital and clinic costs as well as illnesses, according to a new study in JAMA.

The Ebola outbreak exposed some serious gaps in the nation's ability to manage severe infectious disease threats with half of the country scoring low on key indicators related to preventing, detecting, diagnosing, and responding to outbreaks.

A new study in Hepatology highlights the need to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and at-risk populations about appropriate hepatitis C testing, referral, support, and care.

More than 700 hospitals will be penalized in fiscal year 2015 as a result of poor scores in CMS' Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program.

In the next several weeks more than 257,000 physicians and other healthcare providers will receive notification that 1% of their pay next year will be penalized for failing to meet meaningful use, CMS announced Wednesday.

While this year's flu season is expected to be severe, the vaccine is a relatively poor match for current flu strains.

Although just 15% of the US population is enrolled in a consumer-driven health plan, these individuals are more involved in their healthcare, according to a new report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

States designing and testing healthcare payment and service delivery models to improve quality of care and lower costs will be receiving more than $665 million in funding from the government, according to HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell.

Substituting telehealth services for in-person visits can generate savings of roughly $126 per commercial telehealth visit, according to a new actuarial study from the Alliance for Connected Care.

The use of medical scribes hired to enter information into electronic health records (EHRs) has increased substantially, but can pose potential risks, according to a new article in JAMA.

Tennessee became the latest Republican-led state to gain approval for a Medicaid expansion option when Gov Bill Haslam unveiled the Insure Tennessee plan Monday morning. There are just 20 states left that have not expanded Medicaid.

Healthcare databases may allow for greater access to real-world medical data, but they can become a risk to patients and healthcare systems if they are not considered carefully, according to a study published in Current Epidemiology Reports.