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Findings of a retrospective study show that comorbid psychosis and depression in patients with Parkinson disease are associated with greater disease severity and higher healthcare utilization.

High costs of care, particularly for prescription drugs, dominated a discussion of cancer care at the state level during the June 27, 2019, National Comprehensive Cancer Network Policy Summit in Washington, DC.

Here are the top 5 articles for the month of July.

Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate, the first of 2 days, included disagreements over the viability of Medicare for All; 3 insulin makers received subpoenas from the New York Attorney General over their pricing practices; US News & Report released its 30th Annual Best Hospitals rankings.

The Safe Importation Action Plan offers 2 avenues importing drugs originally intended for foreign markets.

CMS announced changes to make it easier for the consumer to know what they are paying for in healthcare and for physicians to manage chronic conditions.

A new study examining the characteristics of patients seen in a cardiac intensive care unit found that the range of acute conditions is diverse, including acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, respiratory insufficiency, and shock, suggesting that optimizing staffing for increased efficiency might be useful.

CMS said it is piloting the integration of Medicare historical claims data into electronic health records to give physicians more information about their patients at the time of an office visit.

US District Judge James E. Boasberg ruled that New Hampshire cannot move ahead with work requirements in exchange for Medicaid coverage; a study looking at 8 flavors of Juul e-liquids found the presence of acetals, irritating chemicals formed from alcohol and aldehydes, in the Crème brûlée flavor; Medicaid expansion advocates are petitioning Florida, Missouri, and Oklahoma to include ballot measures asking voters if they want to allow the federal healthcare program to cover more low-income adults.

Chronic kidney disease comorbid with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with increased mortality, independent of other cardiovascular comorbidities.

Here are 5 interesting findings from the July 2019 issue of AJMC®.

Top professionals in neurology will convene in New York City for the first annual International Congress on the Future of Neurology to discuss the latest data and best practices to better inform clinical decision making. The meeting will be held September 27-28 at the InterContinental New York Times Square.

Providers and facilities should be exploring communication platforms that support secure messaging, social media, and telehealth capabilities, the better to communicate with patients in their preferred manner.

In a study presented at the British Association of Dermatologists’ 99th Annual Meeting in Liverpool, United Kingdom, July 2-4, 2019, researchers from the University of Manchester and the Salford Royal National Health Service Foundation Trust reported on an effort to assess evidence on the risk of cancer in patients with psoriasis. They found that there are a number of site-specific cancers for which patients with psoriasis are at elevated risk.

The Trump administration will not give Utah or other states federal funding to partially expand their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act; if a Medicare for all system operates the same way as traditional Medicare, the program would be “wastefully expensive,” authors warn; the creator of the widely used screening test to screen for early signs of cognitive decline is insisting on training for those who administer it.

The study found that the advantage was due to factors that affect hospital safety, which were present before affiliation and increased afterward.

A recent study used a cross-sectional analysis of a large cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) to investigate the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and AF to identify mediators of increased vascular risk; they found that the risk of cardiovascular complications is higher for patients with AF who also have COPD than it is for patients without COPD.

Therapeutic drug monitoring that includes the measurement of trough concentrations and anti-drug antibodies, along with clinical response, is a tool for clinical decision making.

A recently study of rimegepant, an investigational oral calcitonin gene–related peptide receptor (CGRP) blocker for migraine, resulted in a higher percentage of patients relieved of pain over placebo.

Orphan drug status applies to therapies that will treat fewer than 200,000 patients in the United States.

CMS is considering hosptial-acquired acute kidney injury as a quality measure, and the study offers a model using electronic health records that could help predict imminent risk of this condition using readily available laboratory values.

Researchers said the results demonstrate the effectiveness of Botox as well as emphasize the importance of real-world data and approaches for establishing the efficacy of a treatment for migraine.

This past week saw several pieces of legislation introduced to lower the cost of prescription drug prices. Here are 5 ways patients and providers would be affected by the bills.

Health-related workplace absenteeism may provide additional information about the extent of influenza sickness in the working-age population, a CDC report said.

This week, the top managed care news included bipartisan Senate bills taking aim at drug prices, especially insulin; a study linking payer refusal to pay for proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors with heart attacks and deaths; and a former FDA commissioner visiting The American Journal of Managed Care®.

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

Amid a contentious debate, the Senate Finance Committee voted 19-9 to advance legislation introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, to rein in drug costs in Medicare and Medicaid; a House of Representatives subcommittee accused Juul Labs, maker of the ubiqutious e-cigarette device blamed for a youth vaping epidemic, of targeting children through health promotion activities at about a half dozen schools and summer camps; at their annual meeting this week, governors from around the country are discussing what they will do if a federal appeals court invalidates the Affordable Care Act.

Some cancers, such as breast cancer and leukemia, were well-funded compared with their incidence, mortality, and person-years of life lost, while others, such as gastrointestinal and brain cancers, were all poorly funded.