Authors

The Impacts of Supplemental Benefits on Medicare Advantage Plan Composition

After evaluating the association between the expanded Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits and plan composition, authors determined that adoption was not associated with large demographic shifts in enrollment.

Assessment of Structured Data Elements for Social Risk Factors

An expert panel identified and assessed electronic health record and health information exchange structured data elements to support future development of social risk factor computable phenotyping.

Osimertinib Combo Lessens CNS Progression in EGFR NSCLC

Central nervous system (CNS) progression was reduced with osimertinib plus chemotherapy for patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer plus CNS metastases.

Contributor: Companies Can’t Afford a She-cession

As working women have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, solutions to address what has been coined a “she-cession” include targeted communications, flexible work schedules, and increased education/tutoring resources.

Glucose-Lowering Treatment Patterns in Patients With Diabetic Kidney Disease

Real-world treatment of diabetic kidney disease in the United States, based on national-level health care claims and electronic health records data, is inconsistent with the current guidelines.

Factors Associated With Primary Care Physician Turnover in the VA

This longitudinal observational study found higher team satisfaction with workload to be significantly associated with lower primary care physician turnover.

The Implementation of Opioid Prescribing Report Cards in Medicaid Managed Care: A Community Quality Collaborative

This article describes the Philadelphia Medicaid Opioid Prescribing Initiative that was launched by a multidisciplinary team and mailed local Medicaid providers individualized prescribing report cards.

Preappointment Surveys and Reminder Calls to Improve Show Rate

Patients who completed a preappointment survey were significantly more likely to attend their clinic appointment than noncompleters and spent significantly less time in their appointment.

Consumer-Centric Approach to Enhance Access to Pediatric Specialty Care

The authors’ organization optimized scheduling techniques that improved patient access to pediatric specialists to within 7 calendar days for new patients.

CMS Needs to Rethink How Medicare Assesses Quality

Late 2020 changes make accountable care organizations a canary in the coal mine.

Association of Guideline-Concordant Care With Survival, Health Care Utilization, and Costs Among Older Women With Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Non–guideline-concordant care for ovarian cancer was associated with higher all-cause and cancer-specific mortality, increased health care utilization, and increased Medicare expenditures, highlighting opportunities for improving cancer care in this vulnerable group.

Making the Most of Limited Resources: Predicting Food Insecurity

Lessons learned from developing an inferential model for predicting food insecurity yield essential insights and actionable steps for policy makers seeking to address health-related social needs.

Reduced Medical Spending Associated With Integrated Pharmacy Benefits

Members covered by an integrated pharmacy benefit (as opposed to a pharmacy carve-out) experienced slower growth in medical spending.

Managing Total Knee Replacement Under Value-Based Payments

This article describes the approach that a large primary care group at risk for value-based payments chose to deploy in managing clinical and financial outcomes of knee osteoarthritis jointly with orthopedic surgeons.

Bridging Education Gaps in Treatment for Scarring Alopecia With Innovative Approaches

Crystal Aguh, MD, FAAD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine faculty, highlights the critical need for comprehensive education on hair loss across diverse hair types, stressing the importance of understanding inflammatory pathways for developing targeted therapies.

Dr Jeff Stark: New Bimzelx Dose Offers Simplicity and Choice

On October 14, 2024, the FDA approved a 320-mg single dose of bimekizumab-bkzx (Bimzelx; UCB) in a 2-mL prefilled syringe and autoinjector; both forms are now commercially available in the US.

Provider Capacity During Medicaid Expansion and a Public Health Emergency

This survey study finds that most Missouri Medicaid providers had capacity for new patients, even during a period of unprecedented Medicaid enrollment growth.

A Standardized Care Pathway Increases Optimal Dialysis Starts

The authors observed a significant increase in optimal starts for dialysis and in peritoneal dialysis rates after implementing a standardized end-stage renal disease transition pathway.

Association of Social Risks With Avoiding or Delaying Health Care and With Emergency Department Visits: Evidence From 2017 Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey

Social risks (food insecurity, housing instability, financial strain, health insurance type) are associated with patients’ decisions to avoid/delay health care and increased utilization of the emergency department.

Implementing Team-Based Telemedicine Workflows in Safety-Net Primary Care

Telemedicine in safety-net primary care faces particular challenges. Consistent, team-based workflows can support video visit implementation and health care maintenance in telemedicine visits.

Initiation of the Interchangeable Biosimilar Insulin Glargine-yfgn Among Older Adults

Initiators of biosimilar insulin glargine-yfgn were more likely to reside in rural areas, live in long-term care facilities, or have multiple prescribers and were less likely to have previously used an originator insulin glargine product.

What Would Make Therapy Last? How About 2 Targets Each on B Cells and T Cells?

The Chief Medical Officer of ModeX Therapeutics discusses MDX2003, a groundbreaking tetraspecific therapy that promises enhanced efficacy and safety in non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment. This exchange appears in the January issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, the annual recap of the meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Clinical and Economic Outcomes of a Collaborative Cardiology Care Program

Patients with chronic cardiac conditions benefited from a health care program that strengthened collaboration between general practitioners and cardiology specialists in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.

Revisiting Conclusions on the Empiric Segmentation of High-risk Patients

The authors provide feedback on generalizations made regarding interventions for high-risk populations in previous research.

Hyperpolypharmacy and Readmission Risk Among Medicare Beneficiaries: The Role of Postdischarge Care

This study assessed the impact of hyperpolypharmacy on hospital readmission risk in 2 Medicare populations and identified effects of postdischarge ambulatory care.

Glomerular Filtration Rate Change and Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes

Contributor: Association Between Social Deprivation, Race/Ethnicity, and Unplanned 30-Day Hospital Readmissions for Medicare Beneficiaries

Effects of Individualized Nurse-Led Care Plans on Olaparib Treatment Duration

A nurse-led personalized care program conducted through a specialty pharmacy prolonged medication persistence among patients with cancer receiving olaparib.

Linking Data to Determine Risk for 30-Day Readmissions in Dementia

This study found that certain characteristics in linked electronic health record data across episodes of care can help identify patients with Alzheimer disease and related dementias at high risk of 30-day readmissions.

Trust Between Patients and Clinicians: An Overlooked and Affordable Approach to Improving US Health Care

Raising the visibility of the importance of trust in patient-clinician relationships can help ensure it is acknowledged and incorporated into policy and tactical considerations.