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A new report from the National Quality Forum (NQF) outlines a systematic approach to address how to coordinate the unmet health needs of patients in the areas of food and housing—areas that ultimately affect care outcomes. The guidance for Medicaid programs is targeted at advancing efforts to collect and use data about individuals’ social needs and increase collaboration between communities and healthcare providers to improve beneficiaries’ health.

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

Medicare's refusal to expand physician education funding will exacerbate the staffing shortage that is growing as baby boomers retire.

This week, the top managed care news included Senate confirming Alex Azar as the new HHS Secretary; a report found that healthcare prices rose in 2016; the accountable care organization movement continued to expand.

Via Pathways covers more than 2000 different patient representations in cancer care.

FDA panel rejects claim that smokeless cigarettes result in less harm and disease; big data might be able to shed light on the health effects of weight gain; healthcare is not a key issue among voters in battleground states.

The latest technological advances in the healthcare field will provide more accessible, affordable, and efficient healthcare for patients worldwide, according to a discussion at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Non-Hispanic black women diagnosed with HER2-negative, lymph node-negative breast cancer who had recurrence score testing had higher estimated risks of distant recurrence than their non-Hispanic white counterparts.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/landing/1104

In its first birth defect surveillance report about the Zika virus, the CDC said Thursday there was a 21% increase in certain birth defects “strongly linked” to the virus in the areas most affected by local transmission: south Florida, south Texas, and Puerto Rico. The CDC said it continues to recommend that pregnant women not travel to areas with risk of Zika, including US areas with endemic transmission. It also said healthcare providers should remain vigilant about these possible outcomes.

High cost sharing is associated with reduced and/or delayed access to targeted therapies under Medicare Part D for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, suggesting that financial barriers play a significant role in treatment decisions, according to a study published in Cancer Medicine.

Analysis finds ties between pharmaceutical industry and federal government are deepening; Mississippi readies a Medicaid work requirement waiver; research identifies danger of interactions between herbal supplements and prescription medications.

The United Kingdom's government will lead efforts to decrease loneliness, which can have disastrous health consequences.

The annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), which runs March 10-12, 2018, in Orlando, Florida, will open with cardiovascular outcomes results for the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab (Praluent). The meeting also features updates on anti-inflammatory drugs, the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure, and how cardiology is shifting to new healthcare delivery models.

A new data note from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides new, nationally representative estimates of insurance coverage changes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for the approximately 3% of Americans who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB).

Kentucky residents have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for approving a waiver to add work requirements to the state's Medicaid program.

Enough moderate Democrats joined Republicans in the Senate to approve President Donald Trump's choice of Alex Azar to be HHS secretary 55-43. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, praised Azar's experience in the public and private sector, while Democrats who voted no were concerned about his committment to the Affordable Care Act and reigning in drug prices. Azar replaces Tom Price, MD, who resigned in September 2017.

Patients diagnosed with cancer want their doctors to ask them their desire location for end-of-life (EOL) care, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The study will evaluate the current preferred first-line regimen for pregnant women recommended by the World Health Organization and 2 regimens containing newer antiretroviral drugs that are becoming more widely used.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is allowing more health practitioners prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction; a public health review found mixed results on the outcome of using e-cigarettes based on age; a new index has graded pharmaceutical companies on how well they are fighting against the spread of superbugs.

Earlier this month, CMS announced that 561 accountable care organizations will be participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2018, with 10.5 million assigned beneficiaries.

Rising prices, especially for prescription drugs, surgery, and emergency department visits, caused overall healthcare spending in 2016 to grow faster than at any time in the last 5 years; however, Americans used the same amount or less healthcare in 2016 compared with 2015, according to a report by the Health Care Cost Institute.

Respimat from Boehringer Ingelheim is now the first and only inhaler to be awarded the Ease of Use Commendation by the Arthritis Foundation. This award identifies products that make life easier for people with arthritis and other physical limitations.

Smoking is not an inexpensive hobby. Smokers not only spend money on cigarettes and tobacco, but also on healthcare to manage smoking-related illnesses. Approximately 36.5 million Americans are avid tobacco users who spend large sums of money on their addiction and the consequences that come with it.

Novartis' calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitor for prevention of migraine, erenumab, showed positive results in a phase 3b study in episodic migraine patients who have failed multiple prior preventive treatments.

Kentucky may require Medicaid patients who lose coverage to pass a health literacy test; new tax law encourages companies to offer paid family and medical leave with tax credit; biopharma leaders head to Davos to share ideas.

The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was funded for 6 years, through fiscal year (FY) 2023, under a deal worked out between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York.

The CDC reported recently that the percentage of privately insured reproductive-age women who filled a prescription for a medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) soared 344% from 2003 (0.9%) to 2015 (4.0%).

A government shutdown would have far-reaching implications for public health, with health services halted and almost half of HHS staff furloughed. In an updated contingency plan, HHS outlined which activities would continue during a shutdown and which would not.

The FDA has approved a supplemental New Drug Application to add new overall survival (OS) data for carfilzomib (Kyprolis). The label will now show that carfilzomib and dexamethasone reduced the risk of death by 21% and increased OS by 7.6 months compared with bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM).