Clinical

Widespread adoption of telemedicine has not been documented, and a session at the 2016 National Health Policy Conference hosted by AcademyHealth addressed some of the current challenges.

What we're reading, February 9, 2016: Novartis signs 2 performance-based deals for its new heart drug; 8 states significantly reduced uninsured rates; and the Obama administration will ask for $1.8 billion to prepare to fight the Zika virus.

Ensuring rapid, appropriate, and sustainable access to immuno-oncology therapies for patients in Europe: what role can policies play?

The panel members that have proposed the recommendations have found clinical utility for several genomic tests to guide clinical decision in women with early stage breast cancer.

Using data gathered from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, the authors of a JAMA Internal Medicine study identified a significant decrease in PSA testing referrals by primary care physicians compared with urologists.

A deeper understanding of the interdependencies among the patients, family caregivers, and service providers revealed that if general practice teams intervene early, they may be more likely meet patients’ needs in the end-of-life care process.

For HIV-positive patients, cost considerations take on added importance because of the expensive antiretroviral prescription medications. As such, assessing premiums alone may not provide an accurate measure of plan affordability for HIV-positive patients.

The novel molecule lipegfilgrastim has been shown to be relatively equivalent to pegfilgrastim in the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia among patients with breast cancer.

Study finds new opioid use high among adults with COPD, raising safety concerns in this vulnerable population.

What we're reading, February 5, 2016: new legislation could expand the use of telehealth under Medicare; Massachusetts finds its physicians only screen for depression half the time; and Martin Shkreli pleads the Fifth during most of his testimony before Congress.

The healthcare industry is undergoing payment reform, which includes important initiatives like addressing social determinants of health, but may not be keeping the patient perspective central as these changes are made, Lewis Sandy, MD, senior vice president of Clinical Advancement at UnitedHealth Group, said at the AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference.

The paper in Cancer Medicine finds that cancer has a devastating and age-specific impact on the finances of young adult survivors.

Advances made in the field of immuno-oncology (I-O) in 2015 have greatly expanded our understanding of I-O and added more complexity to its value assessment.

The annual Clinical Cancer Advances report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology highlights the accomplishments made in the last year in the fight against cancer.

What we're reading, February 4, 2016: President Obama is proposing changes to the widely disliked Cadillac tax; Florida declares a health emergency in 4 counties over Zika virus; and drug makers are pouring money into efforts to improve medication adherence.

On World Cancer Day, The American Journal of Managed Care would like to acknowledge the determination of cancer survivors and the support provided by various organizations to patients and their families.

The translation of immuno-oncology agents from the research to the practice arena may provide significant clinical benefit to patients with difficult-to-treat malignancies. The further development and marketing of these agents could escalate the discussion on care equity in a time of constrained resources.

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, discusses how the World Health Organization and other public health agencies are handling the Zika virus, and what role the media plays in their responses to global pandemics.

This week, the World Health Organization labelled the Zika virus a public health emergency. Here is a look at the evidence of the relationship between the virus and microcephaly.

What we're reading, February 3, 2016: President Obama is asking Congress for $1.1 billion to combat the opioid abuse epidemic; 7 blockbuster drugs with the potential for more than $1 billion in sales each are expected in 2016; and less than half of infants are vaccinated against the flu.

Nearly one-third of national medical malpractice complaints involve some form of communication failure, according to the report “Malpractice Risks in Communication Failures” from CRICO.

Annual report from the United States Renal Data System reveals positive and negative trends in kidney disease and touches on several topics related to the prevalence, costs, and treatment of the diseases.

The generic manufacturer may try to maximize profits during the initial exclusivity period, says an expert from a leading health plan.

With increasing evidence of comparable efficacy and reduced toxicity of proton beam therapy, payers may have to reevaluate coverage policies.

What we're reading, February 1, 2016: some medical researchers disagree with sharing raw data used in their research; the medical community is torn on whether or not the annual checkup is worthwhile; and Donald Trump vows to extend healthcare coverage to the lower class.

Providing cancer patients with multiple life-threatening conditions with earlier palliative care consultation can be helpful in bringing down healthcare spending in enormous proportions, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.

Each month, The American Journal of Managed Care hosts a Twitter chat (#AJMCchat) with a different expert. This month’s chat covered care pathways and featured Robert W. Dubois, MD, from the National Pharmaceutical Council.

Biopharmaceutical and diagnostic companies from around the world have come together to call for improved incentives to develop antibiotics that fight superbugs.

A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology concluded that tbo-filgrastim is similar to filgrastim for ASCT mobilization in patients with MM or NHL.

A study comparing the efficacy of tbo-filgrastim with filgrastim when used to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells or to accelerate engraftment after autologous stem cell transplantation found no clinically meaningful differences, plus tbo-filgrastim saved money.