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A study published in JAMA Opthalmology has confirmed that PD-1 inhibitors, and nivolumab in particular, are effective in the treatment of metastatic conjunctival melanoma.

The field of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) has witnessed a slow and steady progress over the past few years. Here are a few recent developments with utilizing and measuring PROs.

Acupuncture represents a nonopioid alternative for treatment pain, but many institutions, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, are resistant to using the treatment.

Patients with insomnia had an increased risk of migraine and nonmigraine headache compared to those without insomnia.

Following more than 1000 people living with HIV who were recently incarcerated, researchers observed that retention in care diminished significantly over time, but it was associated with HIV care during incarceration, health insurance, case management services, and early linkage to care post release.

Electronic cigarettes can cause detrimental effects to human health and should be reconsidered as a smoking cessation tool, based on results from a recent study.

In patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), BK virus-specific T-cell infusions have been shown to clear JC virus in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and relieve clinical symptoms, according to results of a study by Muftuoglu et al.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

This week, the top managed care news included the Trump administration giving governors the power to overhaul section 1332 waivers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA); CMS disclosed a breach in the portal that agents and brokers use to assist consumers signing up for health coverage under the ACA; about one-third of all US healthcare payments in 2017 were tied to alternative payment models.

Researchers aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness of oral anti-osteoporosis drugs based on the observed risk of fracture while receiving treatment through primary care in the United Kingdom and Spain.

Fewer than 4 out of 10 adults received influenza vaccinations last winter, the lowest rate in 7 seasons; methamphetamine use is rising across the United States, but it is overshadowed by opioids and fatal overdoses; tobacco giant Altria will stop selling e-cigarette “pods” and will pull almost all its flavored products from the market in an attempt to help curb teen vaping.

As Election Day 2018 nears, President Trump and Congress pulled off a rare feat, rallying around the signing of bipartisan legislation that will attempt to combat opioid use disorder, which took more than 42,000 lives in 2016.

A recent trial sought to assess the effect of palbociclib on overall survival (OS) and the efficacy of subsequent therapy in patients with hormone receptor–positive (HR+), HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.

President Donald Trump unveiled the latest steps his administration is taking to help Medicare drive down the costs of prescription drugs with a plan to allow CMS to determine the price it pays for certain drugs based on the prices that other countries pay.

Patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease (NTMLD) have a significant greater risk of hospitalization and higher total healthcare expenditures than matched control patients without NTMLD.

A new single-dose influenza vaccine that can be taken in the first days after symptoms of the flu start to appear has been approved; 102 million Americans with pre-existing conditions could be affected if protections under the Affordable Care Act are repealed; a federal advisory panel is recommending homeless individuals be routinely vaccinated for hepatitis A to prevent disease outbreaks, which have increased since 2016.

For patients with health insurance through their workplace, local prices for healthcare across and within 112 metro areas in the United States show wide variation, according to a new interactive report from the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

Amgen has announced that the price of its proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor, evolocumab (Repatha), will be reduced by 60%, from an annual price of $14,100 down to $5850.

According to a study presented at the ESMO 2018 Congress in Munich, Germany, treatment with PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors is a feasible option for patients who have cancer and are living with HIV.

While the emergence of new antirheumatic agents—including biologics—has revolutionized the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), these drugs come a high cost to the healthcare system. Furthermore, many patients who receive these drugs may not respond to therapy, thereby increasing costs without improving outcomes.

A case report has revealed that clozapine with intermittent colony-stimulating factors helped treat leukopenia and neutropenia in a patient with chronic paranoid schizophrenia who responds only to clozapine.

Five unproven or potentially risky treatments have raised millions of dollars through crowdfunding campaigns since 2015; just 10 minutes of mild exercise can have an immediate impact on brain function; the Maine Attorney General’s Office has filed a brief supporting a lawsuit accusing Governor Paul LePage of breaking the law by trying to block Medicaid expansion.

A German study examined whether multidisciplinary inpatient treatment for chronic neuropathic pain leads to improvement of pain in outcome and psychological variables at posttreatment and 3-month follow-up.

The FDA’s approval of dupilumab, already approved for severe eczema, for asthma makes it the second biologic for the incurable lung disease.

Speakers at the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s Quality Talks meeting discussed challenges to improving healthcare delivery, such as changing behaviors, moving care outside of institutions, and rebuilding trust among marginalized populations.

The FDA announced it will consider ways to make naloxone more broadly available, including the possibility of coprescribing the opioid overdose antidote with some or all opioid prescriptions. In addition, CMS said it was creating a new care model to care for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder.

A phase 3 trial recently investigated if nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel enhances the treatment of atezolizumab in unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Postoperative and preoperative start of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) does not change the outcome of mortality or risk of reoperation in patients with hip fractures treated with osteosynthesis, according to a recent study.