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In a study released Monday by the Integrated Benefits Institute, researchers found that due to lost time from work caused by the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), employee benefits for absent workers could cost employers more than $23 billion.

As the United States prepares for what could be the worst week yet of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, national attention has been focused on the disease’s current epicenters in New York and New Jersey. However, across the country, the pandemic is slowly seeping into the nation’s economically vulnerable populations and is already taking a toll on minority communities.

Kimberly Lovett Rockwell, MD, JD, and Alexis S. Gilroy, JD, the authors of a commentary in the April issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, explain how telemedicine can help alleviate the burden on health systems brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and how regulations are shifting to enable use of the technology during the pandemic and beyond.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was linked with cardiovascaluar issues and cardiac arrest; African Americans were shown to have higher rates of infection and death due to COVID-19; health experts call for smokers to cease use and manufacturers to halt production.

Welcome to Paper of the Week, which looks back at research and commentary of the past 25 years in The American Journal of Managed Care® and why it matters today.

The analysis looked at 13 of America’s largest employers, including energy, hospitality, retail, transportation, and finance companies.

The FDA has announced a relaxing of its restrictions on gay men being allowed to donate blood, in light of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Instead of 1 year, if a male has had sex with another male, he need only wait 3 months to donate blood.

What can be done to further delineate the risk factors associated with breast cancer to increase prevention efforts across the board? The key may lie in the white blood cells that circulate in the blood, particularly leukocytes and monocytes.

The introduction of biosimilars in the US market brings along specific challenges to health system pharmacists, including formulary assessment, implementation, and education of patients and various health system stakeholders, according to a review published in Drugs In Context.

Detectable viral load (VL) is associated with a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among US youth living with HIV, according to an abstract presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.

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

Drugs used by hospitals to intubate and treat patients with COVID-19 are in short supply; rapid tests will be sent to Native American, rural populations; data shows a rise in nonfatal drug overdoses between 2016 and 2017.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a typically poor prognosis. Even with an allogeneic stem cell transplant, patients can become resistant to chemotherapy. Most do not survive 4 or 5 years after diagnosis, and the 10-year survival rate hovers between 5% and 10%.

A large-scale study reports that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)—even if they never smoked—have a 2.6 times greater incidence of developing lung cancer compared with those who had neither COPD or a history of smoking.

In a recently published review, researchers examined the brain-skin connection and the pathogenesis of psoriasis, focusing on the serotonergic system.

Theranexus announced this week that its phase 2 trial for THN102 (modafinil/flecainide) in patients with Parkinson disease met its primary efficacy end point of significantly increasing the proportion of patients no longer suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness.

Vitamin D deficiency in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an elevated risk of postpartum glucose intolerance, according to a study published in Endocrinology and Metabolism.

In a survey released this week, half of US small business owners said they cannot afford to pay employees for a full month amid the economic lockdown caused by coronavirus disease 2019, with 1 in 5 also noting their inability to afford wages for a week or less.

A record number of Americans filed for unemployment last week; President Trump decides not to reopen Affordable Care Act enrollment; a survey found a majority of physicians say they cannot test for COVID-19 fast enough.

The FDA has requested all ranitidine (Zantac) products be pulled from the market immediately. The recall includes all prescription and over-the-counter ranitidine drugs as ongoing investigations uncovered levels of N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a probable human carcinogen, increase over time.

Researchers analyzed data from 38 patients with COVID-19 from Hubei Province, China, and found 12 individuals had ocular manifestations, including epiphora, conjunctival congestion, or chemosis.

The 2 main criteria that warrant genetic testing for breast cancer in women are age and having a family history of cancer. Postmenopausal women without any hereditary risk factors, however, often do not undergo genetic testing for the disease.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy via telephone was shown to be an effective depression intervention in patients with Parkinson disease, which may lead to greater access of care for patients with this unmet need, according to study findings published today.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to healthcare cost increases of as much as 7% for employers, based on recent study results, stressing the essential need for organizations to have a plan that supports employees and potential revenue loss.

Physical exercise significantly reduces fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a study published in BMC Neurology.

Alteon Health will be reducing benefits to doctors and nurses helping to fight coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); the Pentagon has 2000 ventilators it does not know where to send; blood donation centers will soon start collecting plasma from COVID-19 survivors.

Telehealth is expected to grow even more during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In light of the need for expanded healthcare resources, and the need to avoid in-person contact that may promote disease transmission, telehealth is widely seen as having potential to extend its reach at this time, and regulations restricting it are being relaxed.

Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has issued a position statement on the significance of sufficient sleep, which when impaired has been deemed a possible contributing factor to physician burnout.