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In a speech to the National Association of Medicaid Directors, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said CMS is giving states more flexibility to enact inpatient mental health treatment for Medicaid beneficiaries, reversing a rule known as the "IMD exclusion.”

The report finds that another 1.7 million Americans have diabetes than would have been the case if rates had not increased.

A law overhauling how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) allows patients to seek outside care is falling behind in implementation; new government guidelines about physical activity say adults need a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity, or at least 22 minutes a day; more judges around the country are mandating outpatient psychiatric interventions, including therapy and medication, instead of hospitalizations.

Patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) and osteoporosis who were treated with denosumab had greater increases in bone mineral density in the femoral neck and lumbar spine, as well as lower pain scores and bone resorption biomarkers, compared with placebo, according to the results of a phase 2b trial.

If the trial is successful, venglustat could be the first treatment to target the mechanism of action in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which affects 120,000 people in the United States.

An estimated 25,000 Americans who are at high risk for developing lung cancer would be saved annually through low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans, but only 5% of people who qualify are screened. In an effort to increase the number of people getting screened, the American Lung Association (ALA) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) unveiled a Lung Cancer Screening Implementation Guide during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

Between 1999-2000 to 2014, the use of IV fluids, dopaminergic receptor antagonists prochlorperazine/metoclopramide, ketorolac, and dexamethasone increased while the use of narcotics decreased.

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Broad institute of MIT and Harvard recently identified specific states of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells that are associated with patient response to checkpoint immunotherapy for melanoma.

Retraction and republication: The JAMA article referenced in this story was retracted and republished on October 8, 2019. Please refer to the updated findings here.

A landmark moment in the world’s efforts to respond to the Ebola crisis is set to begin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as clinical trials of an experimental therapy begin; after the National Rifle Association (NRA) posted a mocking tweet to physicians about gun violence, doctors responded in kind on Twitter; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she is "staying on as Speaker" to protect the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Global Burden of Disease Study has ranked low back pain as a leading cause of disability worldwide, and the Lancet Low Back Pain Series Working Group has recommended that researchers and policy makers develop and implement strategies to identify and educate patients with low back pain who are at risk of persistence of pain and disability.

Data and collaboration are necessary ingredients to succeed in the transition to value-based care models, and the money saved under these models will create room to pay for unconventional therapies and services in healthcare, according to panelists at The Institute for Value-Based Medicine meeting in Seattle, Washington.

A new study in Chest has identified a correlation between electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and asthma symptoms in youth. The association was independent of cigarette smoking and ENDS use and exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke.

Many headache specialists are not satisfied with the care their patients receive in the emergency department (ED), demonstrating the need for more standardized protocols for ED visits by patients with known headache disorders, according to a new study.

Results presented at the American Heart Association in Chicago provided the strongest evidence to date on what heart failure specialists have discussed for several years now: the possibility that SGLT2 inhibitors might be used to prevent heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes.

A recent review of alendronate for the treatment of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) found that it significantly increased bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck in patients with GIO, but does not appear to reduce the risk of fractures.

The FDA approved revefenacin (Yupelri), the first once-a-day nebulized bronchodilator for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Family-centered pediatric advance care planning increased and maintained agreement about goals of care longitudinally, which lowered adolescents’ physical symptoms and suffering.

A survey of nearly 700 people, each with at least $35,000 in household income, found that more than half of respondents are concerned about their ability to pay a medical bill of less than $1000, with 35% being concerned about paying a medical bill under $500.

Researchers recently reported findings from a study designed to determine patient attitudes about mammographic reporting of breast arterial calcification (BAC), result of the BAC communication, and subsequent action.

Preliminary data from a new study has demonstrated that pre-emptive administration of pan-genotypic, direct-acting antiviral therapy prevents hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in HCV-negative cardiac transplant patients receiving donor hearts infected with the virus.

Progress in health around the globe has stagnated in some countries and gotten worse in others as the world faced increases in conflict and terrorism, epidemics, and noncommunicable diseases, according to global disease estimates published in The Lancet.

Seeking to determine how FN is managed in most referral hospitals in Iran, researchers studied patients hospitalized during a 6-month period, also taking into account characteristics of FN patients and the risk factors associated with FN development.

This week, the top managed care stories included Medicaid expansion wins at the ballot box; new melanoma guidelines that promote recommended treatments and discuss genetic testing; research found high blood pressure in young adults predicts future cardiovascular events.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has many identifiable risk factors and inflammatory biomarkers that are linked to osteoporosis, according to the results of a recent review.

In addition to voting for representatives whom people thought would align with their healthcare views, voters in multiple states were faced with ballot measures related to healthcare on November 6. Here are 5 healthcare ballot measures and how they fared in the 2018 midterm elections.

Treatments with therapeutic phlebotomy and hydroxyurea are associated with improved overall survival and decreased risk of thrombosis in older patients with polycythemia vera, according to a recent retrospective cohort study published in Blood Advances.

The FDA is planning on imposing severe restrictions on the sale of e-cigarette products as soon as next week; marijuana was a hit with voters in the midterm election; HHS is recommending a ban on the chemicals in kratom that would make the herb as illegal as heroin or LSD.