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AstraZeneca is trying to invoke the Orphan Drug Act to protect its blockbuster, on the grounds it is approved to treat a rare pediatric condition.

On an earnings call yesterday, Novartis announced that the FDA has sent a complete response letter for their product pegfilgrastim, biosimilar to Neulesta.

The way the meaningful use program was structured was more about the adoption of electronic health records and not interoperability, and in order to get there, the US health system needs to first understand what it wants interoperability to do.

A long-term follow up study among Dutch women who underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in the Netherlands has failed to find an association between the treatment and an increased risk of breast cancer.

The transactions were announced a year ago right after a Supreme Court decision that left subsidies for the federal health exchange intact.

Research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has tried to fill the knowledge gaps that exist in the treatment of colorectal cancers that harbor mutations in genes involved in DNA mismatch repair.

An expert asks whether we'll hear more on the Republican nominee's healthcare plans, and a study shows obese kids benefit from eating less sugar.

The study found that the mortality risk for poor black men, relative to similar white men, persisted even when taking factors like education, employment, and marital status into account.

Teenagers who started with an average BMI of 51.7 were able to reduce that by more than 40% over the first year after surgery. They were able to complete a lap of an outdoor track nearly a half-minute faster on average, and fewer reported being in pain.

An initiative that provided Pennsylvania Medicaid patients with a primary care “medical home” reduced the costs of their care by up to $4100 per year and decreased the number of their physician visits and hospitalizations.

A new study in the June 2016 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine found that between 2010 and 2012, an estimated $73.0 billion in excess of generic cost was spent on brand drugs within the same class.

The tool will let pump users get updates of new features in between replacement of their hardware.

According to the study published in Cancer, adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early stage colon cancer results in clinically relevant improvement in overall survival.

Also, the share of employers funding wellness programs has passed the 50% mark, but not all employees use them.

The most recent Kaiser Health Tracking Poll was conducted during an exceptionally violent week. Concerns about terrorism and gun policy outranked jobs and the economy and healthcare as voter priorities.

The Pew Charitable Trusts has proposed several ideas to address substance use disorders by focusing on developing and supporting policies such as the proposed rule to increase the patient limit for qualifying physicians to treat opioid use disorders.

The authors say patients with cancer and dementia were more likely to have palliative care consultations and DNR orders.

Faulty assumptions about the best ways to address the needs of minority patients may be lead to racial and ethnic disparities in the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.

The top stories in managed care this week included coverage of JAMA’s special issue on healthcare transformation under the ACA, changes in the proposed 2017 Physician Fee Schedule promoting value-based care, and more.

Highlights of coverage of our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

A new study in Health Affairs suggests antipsychotic use among Medicaid children peaked in 2008 and has slowed since that time, but this remains a policy challenge.

Despite their known risk, only half the women over 85 years of age in a cohort being evaluated had their baseline bone density tested prior to initiating treatment.

Physician groups like some part of the new fee plan but find other overly burdensome.

What We’re Reading, July 15, 2016: What can the 7 remaining co-ops do to survive; CMS projects increased Medicare spending per enrollee by 2025; and experts call for policy changes to support the health of prisoners at high risk for HIV.

Making medical decisions is not as easy as following the evidence. When dealing with people, there are a number of anomalies that influence the decisions someone might make.

Loss-of-function mutations in Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) or Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), deletion of the wild-type allele of JAK1 or JAK2, and truncation in the antigen-presenting protein beta-2-microglobulin gene were found responsible for lack of response to interferon gamma.

Researchers found health benefits even for those who started cycling close to retirement.

Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt told the Senate Finance Committee there are concerns that some primary care practices will not be ready for the targeted January 1, 2017, start date.

What We’re Reading, July 14, 2016: Inaccurate provider directories in California health plans; atehnahealth survey identifies low physician engagement; and opioid addiction bill will soon be law.

A study has found that an 8-gene signature score, combined with nodal status and tumor size, obtained from the EndoPredict breast cancer test might be more accurate at predicting the recurrence of breast cancer, compared with the recurrence score of Oncotype DX.