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A recent study found that a sizable portion of the commercially insured asthma population lacks disease control, regardless of asthma severity, signaling a needed shift in treatment strategies.

Compared with healthy controls, patients with episodic migraine and patients with chronic migraine exhibited differing structural brain network characteristics, potentially indicating maladaptive reorganizations of headache-related brain circuits which could lead to migraine attacks or secondary alterations to pain.

A US trial finds AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to be 79% effective in preventing the virus; parents of children enrolled in virtual school are more likely to report negative physical, mental, and emotional health; Anthony Fauci, MD, says the UK COVID-19 variant is likely tied to 30% of US infections.

Despite patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension reporting good quality of life and low symptom severity, functional limitations persisted, suggesting improvements to the patient experience are needed, according to researchers.

A panel at the NCCN Virtual Annual Meeting finds that while primary care physicians and oncologists can share information, records may not be well integrated and in easy-to-use formats.

Dayna Clark, MPH, and Kalpana Ramiah, DrPH, MSc, explain why patient trust is important for hospitals to have, as discussed in their poster presented at the 2021 AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference.

Amid the pandemic, organizations utilizing a value-based care reimbursement model may be better positioned than those using a fee-for-service model to delineate high-risk patients and manage their care, particularly for long-term symptoms that may arise due to COVID-19.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

Pediatric patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes have a 10 times greater risk of complications and death from COVID-19 compared with children whose diabetes is well controlled, according to new research.

Wound care is costly, costing at least $28.1 billion annually for the Medicare population alone. Treating patients with wounds can be complex as they often have multiple comorbidities that impede wound healing.

The results showed that in half of patients with cancers of unknown origin, next-generation sequencing located the primary site of origin and, in those who were matched to a therapy, half achieved a clinical benefit.

Improved understanding of the early mechanisms of chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be the next step in efforts to delay or reverse disease progression.

Researchers discuss the current state of digital health for the treatment of Parkinson disease, particularly patient perspectives and specific technological innovations being investigated.

According to the researchers, few treatments have been able to reduce the thrombotic burden in patients with polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocytopenia (ET), and progress on this front has been hindered by a lack of studies designed to assess a treatment’s impact on thrombotic events.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with clinically important deterioration were found to have greater exacerbations and mortality risks; however, triplet therapy could help rectify that.

Deep learning algorithms to diagnose skin disease like atopic dermatitis could save time for providers while increasing accuracy, according to a pilot study.

Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, longitudinal strain, and circumferential strain have possibly been linked to development of heart failure among elderly individuals.

A survey released this month of US patients with blood cancers shows a somewhat surprising level of hesitancy about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, but because patients with cancer were not included in clinical trials, the situation for this population is somewhat nuanced.

Generally, life sciences companies are aligned around the benefit of using value-based insurance design (VBID) to address health care costs and ensure that medications get to the patients who need them.

Spinal muscular atrophy treatment Zolgensma was found to be safe and effective for long-term use and use in presymptomatic patients, according to posters presented at the 2021 MDA Virtual Clinical & Scientific Conference.

The researchers of the study say their findings may aid the hematological community in determining the value of integrating gene expression profiles in contemporary prognostic models to better identify high-risk patients with a poor prognosis.

Among these factors, having a higher degree of disability from multiple sclerosis (MS) was independently associated with higher morbidity and mortality risks from having a comorbid case of COVID-19.

European Medicines Agency announces AstraZeneca vaccine is safe; a low-dose aspirin regimen may help reduce severe COVID-19 outcomes; President Joe Biden sends excess AstraZeneca vaccines to Canada and Mexico.

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

This week, the top managed care news included AstraZeneca refuting blood clot links to COVID-19 vaccine; 2021 V-BID Summit celebrates 20 years of policy achievements for value-based insurance design; Managed Care Cast discusses 4 strategies payers can use to ensure opioid use disorder care.

To mark World Sleep Day, a survey issued this week spotlights trends that have impacted sleep quality in the past year, including rising stress amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of unattended snoring that may signal an underlying health condition.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) is being used more frequently in clinical trials and to identify the best treatment course for patients, but unknowns remain about the optimal use of MRD testing.

Despite HHS’ recommendation that everyone with HIV start antiretroviral therapy (ART) soon after their diagnosis, uptick disparities remain and are especially apparent among persons with drug abuse or dependence.