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While the pharmaceutical industry has always justified the billions spent on developing a candidate drug molecule, the process has definitely seen some important changes. This article evaluates whether these revolutionary changes have influenced drug development for the better.

On March 4, The American Journal of Managed Care will be live-reporting the news from the Supreme Court oral arguments in the case of King v. Burwell. In the meantime, here is a recap of the news leading up to the lawsuit's day in court.

The technique, L-COSY, monitors biochemical changes in tissue and could improve the management of women at risk of breast cancer, such as those carrying mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2.

While the majority of primary care physicians are aware of and use state prescription drug monitoring programs to reduce drug abuse and diversion, many do not access these programs routinely, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The study in Health Affairs published by Samir Soneji, PhD, an assistant professor at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, found that despite a sharp rise in healthcare spending,caner mortality rates are very high in the US compared to Western Europe.

Under the Affordable Care Act, CMS is charged with evaluating how well accepted quality measures are working to help meet a National Quality Strategy.

Awareness of chronic kidney disease remains low in the United States, yet the prevalence of the disease will rise over the next 15 years, according to a model developed by RTI.

Federal investigators say they have found evidence of widespread overuse of psychiatric drugs by older Americans with Alzheimer's disease, and are recommending that Medicare officials take immediate action to reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

The use of adjuvant systemic therapy for localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors has significantly increased over time, a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Oncology, has found, and patients treated with the therapy have better survival than those treated with surgery alone, researchers say.

The study found that following Genetech's decision to restrict the distribution of it's 3 popular cancer medications through specific specialty distributors, patient access to the drugs has reduced while costs have increased.

Results released by Amgen, who bought the molecule from Onyx, show that Kyprolis yielded better results when used as second-line in relapsed patients.

Despite large claims that integrated delivery networks (IDNs) delivery higher quality care more efficiently and cost-effectively, a study of the nation's 15 largest IDNs provided scant evidence to back them up, according to a new report.

Nina Pham was the first nurse at Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas to contract the Ebola virus after caring for patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who died October 8, 2014. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Pham said she will sue the hospital's parent company today for unspecified damages, citing inadequate training and safety measures and for violations to her privacy.

The Thyroid Cancer Clinical Registry is expected to improve quality of patient care as patient data would be readily available to all physicians involved in the patients care; however former Commission on Cancer chair Frederick L Greene, MD, wonders whether physicians would take the time to enter the clinical data into the system as required.

Modeling data discussed at a press conference at the 2015 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections showed that delaying HCV treatment, consequent to the high cost of the newer antiviral regimens, could prove fatal in patients coninfected with HIV.

In a string of meetings and press releases, the federal government's health watchdogs have delivered a stern message: They are cracking down on insurers, hospitals, and doctors offices that don't adequately protect the security and privacy of medical records.

The immune systems of people with chronic fatigue syndrome differ from those of healthy people, and patients with recent diagnoses can be distinguished from those who have had the condition for longer, according to researchers.

The list of situations that trigger a special, 60-day enrollment period will get longer in April, when a new rule issued by HHS takes effect.

Third parties receive personal health information from more than 90% of visits to health-related websites, according to research to be published in the March 2015 issue of Communication of the ACM.

A one-minute look at managed care news during the week of February 23, 2015, including another step by CMS toward a quality-based payment system and more predictions on the outcomes of King v. Burwell.

A simple urine test could help to guide clinicians in the treatment of bladder cancer patients, researchers believe. Being able to reliably identify those patients with the most aggressive cancers early via urine tests, and expediting aggressive therapeutic strategies, may significantly improve outcomes, they say.

A recent survey indicates healthcare providers are eager to adopt a chronic care management platform that would qualify them for newly available Medicare reimbursements.

Although physician practices are generally optimistic about being prepared for the October 1, 2015, transition date for ICD-10, only 21% admitted they are currently on track with preparations.

Proposed payment cuts to Medicare Advantage (MA) could cause many beneficiaries to lose access to MA plans and cause great disruption to the market, according to a new report by Oliver Wyman for America's Health Insurance Plans.

Despite concerns that increasing healthcare coverage for Americans through the Affordable Care Act would lead to substantial strain on the US healthcare delivery system, The Commonwealth Fund found that increases will only modestly increase the demand for healthcare services.

BMS announced in a press release today that Opdivo (nivolumab), approved for advanced melanoma, has received priority review from the FDA for treating patients with advanced NSCLC.

Budget cuts mean county health clinics will be unable to fill hundreds of jobs, leaving smaller staffs to serve low-income people in state that declined to expand Medicaid despite pleas from its hospitals and business leaders.

Emergency care providers vary in their understanding of a type of medical order intended to communicate seriously ill patients' choices for life-sustaining treatments, according to a pair of studies recently published.

The American Journal of Managed Care convened a discussion of 2 leading clinicians and 2 medical directors for leading payers, all of whom saw some merit in FDA's plans to bring oversight to the diagnostic testing market. The strongest advocate for greater FDA oversight was Daniel F. Hayes, MD, clinical director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan, who will be a future president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Ten oncology practices around the nation will initiate their accreditation process this year, which includes an on-site survey bu the Commission on Cancer.