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What we're reading, July 7, 2016: the House passed legislation to overhaul mental health care; the NFL is accused of being quick to hand out powerful painkillers; and one student outlines 5 ways to reform medical schools.

A recent study of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Web-based patient portal, My HealtheVet, found a small, statistically significant and potentially meaningful improvement in diabetes-related physiologic measures among patients who started and sustained use of the portal's features.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has published a paper that shares the various innovative approaches developed by the society for guideline development and implementation.

Researchers from Washington University in Saint Louis did experiments on mice and found that the effects of high fat, high sucrose diets lasted into the 3rd generation.

A federal appeals court has overturned a previous ruling and decided that biosimilar manufacturers must provide the innovator company a 180-day notice only after receiving FDA-approval for its biosimilar product.

The New Jersey insurer said its fraud fighting efforts included both detective work and analytics. Nationwide, fraud prevention relies increasingly on predictive modeling to keep suspicious payments from ever going out the door.

What we're reading, July 6, 2016: the Department of Veterans Affairs has made progress, but still has a long way to go; court upholds 6-month delay for biosimilars; and Apple promotes organ donation with iPhone app.

The approval was based on the results of the phase 3 ENDEAVOR study.

Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade moved to protect existing policyholders after HealthyCT learned June 30, 2016, it would have to pay CMS $13.4 million under the ACA Risk Adjustment program, which has been heavily criticized.

If the full FDA accepts the panel's narrow recommendation, the type 2 diabetes therapy could enjoy a preferred status above its rivals in the SGLT2 market.

UnitedHealth Group is suing American Renal Associates Holdings for fraudulent behavior, and Anthem and Express Scripts are facing a lawsuit for overcharging on prescription drugs.

Researchers from the Duke Cancer Institute have discovered that mutations in the BRCA1 gene can dramatically increase the probability of a woman developing serous or serous-like endometrial carcinoma.

What we're reading, July 5, 2016: South Carolina's Obamacare health insurance exchange is close to collapse; hepatitis C virus treatment restrictions are being slowly lifted; and a special feature on what foods are healthy.

If dementia goes undiagnosed, people with dementia run the risk of unsafe activities such as driving, cooking, and managing finances and medication.

Gregory C. Simon, executive director, White House Cancer Task Force, spoke at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Policy Summit, held just 2 days before the Cancer Moonshot Summit.

Retail prices for 23 cancer drugs may be highest in the United States, but are less affordable in low-income countries despite lower retail prices.

Two hospitals, one in Georgia and another in California, charge in lawsuits that BCBS of Georgia sends payment directly to patients instead of paying the hospitals for care provided. The patients often do not know they are supposed to sign the checks over to cover the cost of their care, and the hospitals end up without payment.

After reviewing the evidence for all approved hepatitis C virus treatments, Advera Health has determined that Gilead Sciences’ newly approved, pan-genomic Epclusa has a similar safety profile as Sovaldi, Harvoni, Daklinza, and Viekira Pak.

A majority of people surveyed in California and Hawaii supported physician-assisted death. There was even a majority of support among respondents who said religion or spirituality was very important to them.

This week, the top stories in managed care include the largest healthcare fraud takedown, one successful accountable care organization imparted its secrets, and a report identifies pharmacy trends in the public health exchanges.

New Health Care Cost Institute report analyzed how much money is spent on children and adults with diabetes, where the money goes, and how that compares to individuals who do not have diabetes.

Selections of our peer-reviewed research and commentary in the healthcare and mainstream press.

What we're reading, June 30, 2016: concerns over Anthem-Cigna deal may mean the government moves to block the merger; why the price of childhood vaccines is actually too low; and saturated fats are not as bad as once thought.

The Oncology Care Model is one of the most recent bundled payment programs announced by CMS, going into effect July 1. Participants will need a robust data analytics program in order to meet practice requirements, and achieve clinical and financial goals. Read on for tips to achieve data-driven success, and a simulation of what practice data will look like under the model.

What we're reading, July 4, 2016: a hospital is offering free housing to get super-utilizers out of the emergency room; campaigns for patients to gain access to stem cell treatments are gaining momentum; and why hospital/physician integration and consolidation probably won't lower costs.

In the last 5 years urgent care has seen a rise in popularity. Here are 5 facts about urgent care clinics.