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The American Medical Association has called for intensified oversight of the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry; the governor of Florida has signed a bill into law that would allow state residents to access cheaper medication through 2 prescription drug importation programs; the Ebola virus has crossed international borders during the second-worst outbreak in history.

While older adults represent a majority of new cancer diagnoses, they are underrepresented in randomized clinical trials.

Geisinger is launching a new study to test if a novel technique can detect flare-ups or exacerbations experienced by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by listening to their voices through their smart phones.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued 2 recommendation statements including 3 grade A recommendations for the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention and HIV screening in adults, adolescents, and pregnant women.

Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open after a state circuit court judge issued a preliminary injunction; the FDA overlooked red flags for esketamine after Janssen provided only limited data about the drug's safety and efficacy; opiod manufacturer Insys has filed for bankruptcy proctection after agreeing to pay $225 million to settle a federal investigation over its marketing of fentanyl.

As increasing attention is paid to the cost of healthcare, there are growing efforts to steer patients toward high-value care. New research published in JAMA Network Open compared teaching hospitals with nonteaching hospitals to determine the total cost for common conditions.

A pair of study abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, supported the efficacy of entrectinib among 2 different groups of patients, including patients with a rare form of lung cancer and pediatric and adolescent patients with solid tumors.

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who had been using insulin an average of 8 years and had mean glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels of 8.9% were able to bring their levels down 0.9% after 3 months, according to chart review data from 3 European countries.

In an era when healthcare is extremely expensive, there are many opinions on how involved our federal government should be in bringing drug prices down. However, there is one particular drug-pricing crisis that many can agree needs to be addressed sooner rather than later: the insulin crisis.

A recent study found that patients with sickle cell who had more frequent or severe vaso-occlusive crises (VOCs) had greater absenteeism, overall productivity loss, and activity impairment than patients with less frequent or severe VOCs.

Study findings have revealed that survivors of pediatric hematologic malignancies who underwent hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) exhibit quantitative and qualitative mandibular bone impairments.

According to 2 abstracts presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, multimorbidity, insurance status, and income may affect survival rates of patients with multiple myeloma.

The government taking a backseat has opened the market up to disrupters from outside the healthcare industry.

According to new research, recent advances in acoustic engineering and artificial intelligence have “shown promise” in the identification of respiratory conditions based on sound analysis, which may thus reduce dependence on support services and clinical expertise.

This week, the top managed care news included the American Society of Clinical Oncology discussing drug pricing; community oncologists seeking a delay in taking on downside risk in the Oncology Care Model; CDC finding a drop in new diabetes cases in the United States.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology recently held its annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois. The meeting brought together oncologists, payers, and other stakeholders to discuss the latest updates and therapeutic advances in cancer care. Here are 5 of the biggest takeaways from the meeting.

Aetion announced the company partnered with Horizon Healthcare Services to identify high-risk patients and optimal treatment pathways as a means to achieve better health outcomes and cut healthcare costs.

Research shows that primary care physicians prescribe preventive therapy for migraine less often than migraine specialists.

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

A group of 8 senators have written a letter to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) asking them what solutions they have for lowering drug prices; the number of measles cases in the United States has surpassed 1000; Kirsten Gillibrand has a plan to legalize marijuana and expunge all nonviolent criminal charges associated with it.

If employers want to be able to have an impact on the healthcare system and help create lower cost, more effective markets, they need to get informed, get tough, and get smart, said David Blumenthal, MD, president and chief executive officer, The Commonwealth Fund, during the 2019 Annual Conference of the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health.

More than 5 years after the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act, outcomes data on the effects of Medicaid expansion are starting to emerge.

A study focusing on community pharmacies in Missouri, which has a moderate to high prevalence of COPD (6.5% to 7.5%), found that patients with COPD receiving respiratory medication from the pharmacies had high symptom burden and low medication adherence.

More than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 64 years reported they had trouble paying bills because of cancer, and over one-third reported psychological distress, according to a report from the CDC.

Two abstracts presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers analyzed biomarkers to predict progression, disease severity, and cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Study findings are indicating that patients with migraine are at an increased risk of Bell palsy, and the increased risk varies among age groups.

Granting the wishes of anti-abortion groups, the Trump administration announced it will end fetal tissue research by government scientists; Insys Therapeutics has agreed to pay $225 million to settle federal investigations into allegations that the manufacturer paid kickbacks and used other illegal tactics to sell a powerful fentanyl spray; Medicaid enrollees who would potentially be subject to Medicaid work requirements are likely to face barriers to employment.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that hepatitus C infection may be a risk factor for developing Parkinson disease.