Clinical

Most hematologic oncologists have end-of-life discussions with patients with blood cancers too late, according to a new study.

A literature review by researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center has identified a potential use of the cell cycle inhibitor palbociclib in a variety of cancers.

Studies that provided updates on new drug trials, sessions on value-based care, and the cost of healthcare, were most popular among readers of The American Journal of Managed Care.

What we're reading, December 28, 2015: patients fight for Medicaid coverage of expensive hepatitis C treatment, Express Scripts develops programs to protect insurer's from pricey new drugs, and Republicans divided over Medicaid expansion.

Historically, the biggest barrier to enrolling diverse populations in clinical trials has been a lack of establishing trusting relationships between researchers and communities and their residents, explained C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, professor in the Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.

This week The American Journal of Managed Care offers a special episode of highlights from the American Society of Hematology's annual meeting, including sessions on newly approved treatments, how the move to pay-for-performance affects hematologists, and the increasing role of patient-reported outcomes.

In addition to being responsible for longer hospital stays and readmissions, Clostridium difficile is increases hospital costs by 40%, according to a new study conducted by Premier, Inc.

Most senior healthcare executives agreed that a healthcare system that embraces transparency will produce safer care and better outcomes, but a minority are happy with the current degree of transparency in their organization.

Emil Chiauzzi, PhD, research director, client services at PatientsLikeMe, sat down for an interview at the ISPOR 20th Annual International Meeting to discuss using social media for patient engagement and improving the relationships between researchers and patients.

What we're reading, December 25, 2015: a drug that is currently free could get very costly; this year's flu season is expected to be mild; and before they went on recess, members of Congress introduced a number of healthcare-related bills.

Top 10 videos from The American Journal of Managed Care's Summit and Insight programs.

Opioid prescribing patterns are far less skewed than initially thought. New research has found that most opioid prescriptions are actually distributed by the broad population of US general practitioners.

The rising cost of drugs was in the spotlight in 2015, and the manuscripts in The American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits highlights the growing concerns of the healthcare industry in regards to rising expenditures.

What we're reading, December 24, 2015: more than half of Affordable Care Act co-ops will be closed by the end of 2015, but this could have been avoided; 5 senators are pressing CMS for information on containing drug costs; and a task force does not recommend screening all teens and children for high cholesterol.

Although rivaroxaban was approved by the FDA in 2012, there has remained a knowledge gap about how it works with cancer patients. A recent study found that the therapy is safe and effective when used among patients with cancer.

What we're reading, December 23, 2015: CMS releases data on the most expensive Medicare drugs, while HHS reports strong enrollment numbers on HealthCare.gov, and Hillary Clinton outlines a plan to spend $20 billion on Alzheimer's disease research.

Despite the fact that warfarin is more easily reversible, bleeding complications with the therapy are associated with longer stays in the hospital and higher mortality than dabigatran and rivaroxaban.