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Overuse of scans, transfusions, and the length of time on anticoagulants received attention in the latest round of recommendations presented Monday, as part of the initiative across medicine to improve patient care with an eye toward controlling costs.

Results from a large phase 3 prospective randomized open-label trial, comparing imatinib 400 mg with dasatinib 100 mg daily, were presented by Stephen O'Brien, MD, professor of hematology, Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

On Monday, the third day of the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held December 6-9, in San Francisco, Jeffrey H. Lipton, MD, PhD, chief, presented results from the EPIC trial, evaluating ponatinib in patients with newly diagnosed chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia.

There are many ways patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia can ensure they are active participants in their own treatment, according to Giora Sharf, co-founder of the CML Advocates Network.

Although guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and recommendations from the European LeukemiaNet do not identify a failure time point for major molecular response in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a study at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology was able to pinpoint when treatment is not working.

Republicans in the US Congress plan to renew their attacks on President Barack Obama and his signature healthcare plan on Tuesday when they grill a consultant who said "the stupidity of the American voter" helped ensure the law's passage.

One criticism of the Affordable Care Act is that it imposes a costly, one-size-fits-all standard, drastically increasing premiums by requiring everyone to buy health insurance that covers the same mandated benefits. This is not so.

The updated federal health information technology strategic plan is an attempt to collect, share, and use interoperable health information to improve care; enhance individual, community, and public health; and advance research.

A poster session on the second day of the 56th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held December 6-9, San Francisco, was dedicated to trials evaluating therapeutic options in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Data presented included safety, efficacy, managing comorbidities, and biological differences that drive response to therapy.

Perceptions of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and how to live with it are very different for patients and physicians, and a strong dialogue is needed to overcome the disparity, according to Jan Geissler, co-founder of the CML Advocates Network.

Although nilotinib as a first-line therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia is a more effective treatment than imatinib, nilotinib's side effects are too much for patients.

On the second day at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology 2014, Francois-Xavier Mahon, MD, PhD, Bordeaux Hospital, INSERM 1035, Bordeaux, France, shared the results from the European LeukemiaNet Stop TKI (EURO-SKI) study; the trial used tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in CML to define prognostic markers to increase the rate of patients in durable deep molecular response after stopping TKI.

Representatives from industry and the FDA share perspectives on the state of regulation for therapeutics and diagnostics at the 56th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, being held in San Francisco.

One of the reoccurring themes at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology was the importance of proper monitoring, said Greg Stephens, executive director of the National CML Society.

The hypothetical risk of illness is enough of a motivating factor for people to take action, according to a study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Isolating and comparing cancer stem cells with their normal counterparts has allowed researchers to identify hundreds of differences that can be used to target therapies, said Elaine Fuchs, PhD, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the Rockefeller University.

Discussing out-of-pocket costs with patients and how they can deal with the costs is critical for physicians, Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, associate professor of medicine at the Duke Cancer Institute and the Duke Clinical Research Institute, said at the 56th ASH Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, from December 6-9.

Data breaches are expected to increase in 2015, with healthcare "a vulnerable and attractive target for cybercriminals," according to Experian's 2015 Data Breach Industry Forecast.

Financial incentives and the need to share patient information are the top motivations for physicians adopting electronic health records, according to a data brief from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Jon White, who in October was named acting chief medical officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, on Monday was announced as the agency's acting deputy national coordinator as it searches for a replacement for the recently departed Jacob Reider.

For 2015, marketplaces' ability to conduct an effective renewal process for current enrollees is constrained by their information technology capacity, the short time period for open enrollment, and limited resources for outreach and consumer assistance.

Miscommunication among caregivers is one of the largest causes of medical errors, but a new study suggests that the problem is at least partly preventable.

The Sunshine State seeks to hold down costs with managed care for its Medicaid population and seniors, but it's meeting resistance.

Optimal use of pharmaceuticals is often overlooked for accountable care organizations (ACOs), but ensuring proper medication use, efficacy, and safety is critical to an ACO's success.

The results were presented at the recent Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Barcelona, a meeting jointly sponsored by the NCI, AACR, and EORTC.

While ASCO is calling to update the 340B drug discount program, hospitals that serve economically diverse populations make a case for the program: "Because of 340B, we don't have to turn patients away when they can't pay."

The American Society of Hematology has added 5 more recommendations to it's Choosing Wisely list, which was published in the journal Blood,

With the share of Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in managed care past the halfway mark, a new online tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation will help policymakers and researchers track its status in 39 states.

Health information exchange (HIE) use is increasing in the US, but other than reducing emergency department usage and costs, little else is known about the effect of HIEs on other outcomes, according to a new study from RAND.