Authors

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.

Remote Expert Review Finds Care Gaps in Most Cancer Cases, Yields Savings When Adopted

An analysis of AccessHope case reviews found that experts recommended changes in more than 80% of cases. About half were implemented, saving a median of $18,636 per case.

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.

Novel Multicancer Early Detection Technology––Potential Value to Employers and the Workforce

Multicancer early detection technology could help reduce cancer mortality compared to the current strategy of single-cancer screening tests.

Avoiding Surgical Resection of Recurrent BRAF V600E–Mutated Iodine-Refractory Papillary Thyroid Cancer Involving Trachea/Thyroid Cartilage via Resensitization With Dabrafenib and Trametinib: Report of 3 Cases

Relationship Between Medication Adherence and Other Medicare Star Rating Measures

Performance on Medicare Star Ratings medication adherence measures is significantly tied to performance on the intermediate outcome and statin process measures.

Covishield India: Demystifying Myths Through an Early Multicenter Safety Study

This was a multicenter study carried out in India to study the adverse and systemic effects of the indigenously developed Covishield vaccine.

Reimagining the Inpatient Palliative Care Consult: Lessons From COVID-19

Digital innovations in palliative care during COVID-19 have changed how hospitalized patients receive palliative care. We propose an approach to implement new models at scale.

Pricing and Insurance Networks in Outpatient Surgery Markets

This article examines how prices, insurer payments, and patient payments for outpatient surgeries differ by site of care and network status.

Mental Health Service Utilization Review Patterns in a Medicaid Managed Care Program

Medicaid managed care utilization review data for mental health services were analyzed for the calendar years 2017 and 2018. These data indicate low rates of utilization review denials for both inpatient and outpatient mental health services.

Community Health Workers’ Critical Role in Trust Building Between the Medical System and Communities of Color

The authors interrogate elements of routine medical practice in New York City to argue for reforms of hospital culture through relational trust-building capabilities of community health workers.

Spending Patterns Among Commercially Insured Individuals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this analysis of more than 97 million commercially insured individuals, investigators found that the COVID-19 pandemic induced a spending shock in 2020 and that health care spending did not recover to baseline until mid-2021.

Inflation Reduction Act Impact on the Hematology/Oncology Treatment Landscape

The Inflation Reduction Act introduced Medicare drug price negotiations to reduce treatment costs, enhance access, and potentially reshape prescribing patterns in oncology and hematology.

Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions and Long-term Opioid Treatment

Little is known about opioid prescribing patterns in patients with chronic overlapping pain conditions. This study suggests target populations for interventions to manage chronic pain.