Press Releases

The American Journal of Managed Care and the American Association of Diabetes Educators have collaborated on a special joint issue of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management, which focuses on the growing evidence for payer coverage of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support and the Diabetes Prevention Program.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s upset win almost certainly means the end of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as we know it, but experts who spoke at Patient-Centered Oncology Care Thursday and Friday said the movement toward value-based payment will continue. The fifth annual meeting, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care, took place in Baltimore, Maryland.

With value-based reimbursement now far from its infancy, the chief medical officer for Humana will forecast what’s ahead in payment reform-and how oncology connects with what is happening in primary care, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry. Roy A. Beveridge, MD, will open Patient-Centered Oncology Care, which will meet November 17-18, 2016, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Despite progress, tying healthcare payments to value has proved easier in theory than in practice, according to speakers at this fall’s meeting of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition. Experts convened October 20-21, 2016, by The American Journal of Managed Care looked ahead at the challenges the next president will face with the future of the Affordable Care Act.

Dr. Song is a resident at Massachusetts General Hospital and a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. The American Journal of Managed Care presents the award to an early-career researcher whose achievements show the potential for exceptional long-term contributions in the field of managed care.

Today, federal officials released the final rule for the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), which will overhaul the way doctors are paid. To understand what this rule means to the future of value-based healthcare, join The American Journal of Managed Care October 20-21, 2016, in Philadelphia for the fall meeting of its ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition.

Whether it’s the high cost of insulin or the question of when to start combination therapy, the new issue of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, covers up-to-the-minute topics in this special issue on therapeutics. Editor-in-chief Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, leads off this issue featuring voices of providers, pharmaceutical leaders, payers, and patients.

At what point does the cost of cancer therapy affect the results? The current issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, takes on one of today’s biggest treatment challenges: the eye-popping prices of today’s new therapies can erect barriers to care before it begins.

Healthcare as we have known it doesn’t work cooperatively, which is one reason it costs way too much, according to Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, president emeritus and senior fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and co-originator of the term the Triple Aim. Berwick spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care as it publishes reports on Aligning Forces for Quality, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In 2006, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched Aligning Forces for Quality, which sought to improve the quality of healthcare using a regional approach. Findings on this massive undertaking, introduced by Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, former CMS administrator, reaffirm both the importance and challenge of implementing healthcare reform.

As the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers leave more therapies off formularies, some ask: are patients harmed? A new review in The American Journal of Managed Care, covering 26 studies about drug exclusions, found that most policies saved money without fallout for patients-but there were some exceptions.

Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, who served as FDA Commissioner and CMS Administrator, will be the keynote speaker at the fall meeting of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care. The meeting will be October 20-21, 2016, in Philadelphia.

Point of care medication delivery also led to improved levels of patient satisfaction, according to the study from The University of Miami.

The American Journal of Managed Care’s annual issue on health information technology, which appears each December, has become one of the most anticipated publications of the year. Submissions for this year’s issue, being edited by Joshua R. Vest, PhD, MPH, are due August 1, 2016.

In the most recent Web-based session of The American Journal of Managed Care’s ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, speakers examined 3 practice transformation models.

What is the best way to measure quality care in cancer? As explored in the current issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, it depends on who you ask, and which tools are used to evaluate care.

The American Journal of Managed Care presents two new installments in its multistakeholder Peer Exchange video series. The first addresses screening and treatment for diabetic macular edema, and the second discusses several important new studies on optimal treatment in type 2 diabetes, including cardiovascular outcomes of empagliflozin.

“Secret shopper” calls to clinics over first year tracked primary care appointments for Healthy Michigan Plan and private insurance. Results were published this week in The American Journal of Managed Care.

Media Invited to Congressional Briefing Focusing on the Value of Curing Hepatitis C; Feature Remarks by Harvard, Stanford & USC Researchers & NVHR Executive Director

Rising costs in cancer care have fueled a national conversation on how to decide whether today’s new therapies are “worth it.” A supplement of Evidence-Based Oncology features interviews with those developing value frameworks and coverage of the Oncology Stakeholders Summit, which included patient advocacy, payers and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The arrival of direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C virus raised unprecedented policy questions in healthcare. This new drug class was initially met with alarm over cost and barriers to the cure, despite the potential for long-term savings, and represents one of a number of topics explored in a special issue of The American Journal of Managed Care.

Accountable care organizations can improve outcomes and patient experience while reducing costs through integrated care and better use of technology.

Hospital readmissions are a key quality indicator, and reducing those means learning which at-risk patients return for care. A study in The American Journal of Managed Care examined children with type 1 diabetes enrolled in Managed and Traditional Medicaid programs across 25 states, who are more likely to have incidents of diabetic ketoacidosis, a costly cause of readmission.

The growth of clinical pathways in cancer care brings opportunities to improve quality and control cost, but there are frustrations, too. Physicians want to retain some freedom and are pushing back against the administrative jungle from multiple payers, according to a special issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care.

In preparation for the Spring Live Meeting of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, 2 speakers who will be at the meeting will participate in 2 30-minute tweetchats.

With the news that Medicare will soon pay for diabetes prevention, the 2016 edition of Patient-Centered Diabetes Care, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care, offered up-to-the-minute news on how technology will change the prevention and clinical care models, why ending stigma is key to treating obesity, and what’s ahead in insulin therapy.

Quantifying progress in diabetes management, by measuring blood pressure, A1C, and cholesterol, laid the foundation of healthcare’s movement from fee-for-service toward payment for value. Today, diabetes metrics are entering a more patient-centered era, as discussed in the new issue of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management from The American Journal of Managed Care.

On Tuesday, March 22, 1-2 pm ET, The American Journal of Managed Care will host a tweetchat with Joslin Diabetes Center to discuss diabetes management and the current status of diabetes performance measures.

With the movement toward rewarding doctors based on how well they deliver care comes the question: how to adjust for the different patients doctors see? Authors writing in The American Journal of Managed Care reviewed 13 different studies and made a startling finding-most factors we assume merit adjustments in diabetes care do not, based on evidence thus far.

Ted Okon, MBA, of the Community Oncology Alliance, will participate in a tweetchat with The American Journal of Managed Care on February 29, 1-2 pm ET, to discuss the 340B program, payment reform, the Oncology Medical Home, and more.