Health Care Delivery

Use of low-value care services during COVID-19 exhibits substantial heterogeneity but, on average, shows declines similar to the use of high-value services; low-value care use lags behind high-value care use in the rebound phase.

To mark the nation's 52nd Earth Day, Robert Feder, MD, outlines how climate change will exacerbate mental health challenges and the importance of global efforts to address the crisis.

Patients with reduced DNA mismatch repair protein expression were more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), although this study had a small sample size.

Stephen Rozzo, PhD, associate vice president and head, Biologics Medical Affairs, Sun Pharma, North America, discussed findings of 2 phase 4 real-world studies on tildrakizumab, which showed that patients achieved significant improvement in severity and quality of life by week 4 of treatment.

An exhalation system with fluticasone was shown to significantly reduce nasal polyp score at 4 and 16 weeks compared with placebo, with improvements also observed in several patient-reported outcomes.

Bill Vandivier, DO, outlines the challenges brought on by health care consolidation in his talk at the National Association of Managed Care Physicians Spring Managed Care Forum.

Patient education is an important step toward improving outcomes for racial and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by lupus, but a new report suggests payers and physicians also have more to learn about the problem.

The research, conducted in Germany, found that biologic treatment for asthma resulted in reduced health care resource utilization (HCRU), as seen in fewer hospitalizations and oral corticosteroid prescriptions as well as less sick leave.

This investigation focused on use of additional services and incidence of new diagnoses among women who underwent a breast cancer screening MRI—having a low or average risk of the cancer—compared with a matched cohort who underwent mammography.

Elaine Siegfried, MD, professor of pediatrics and dermatology, Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, discusses several pediatric patient populations with atopic dermatitis who are candidates for the use of systemic therapies.

Pediatric patients with psoriasis exhibited significant improvements in self-reported outcomes and objective measures of complete skin clearance when treated with ixekizumab vs placebo, with no new safety findings identified.

Researchers used a model to determine life expectancy gains among those with type 2 diabetes (T2D) who had superior levels of glycated hemoglobin and other factors.

CDC launches a new center to forecast infectious diseases; Alabama reaches settlement with opioid manufacturers; lack of diversity seen in Alzheimer disease trials.

Key opinion leaders addressed cost, accessibility, and other barriers limiting use of comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP), and how employers can help drive preventive care and precision medicine through CGP.

In a talk presented by The Hastings Center, Gary Cohen, president of Health Care Without Harm, explains how the health care industry can fight climate change, mitigate social determinants of health, and reduce costs through a series of targeted efforts.

April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness month, and on this episode of Managed Care Cast, we take a look at the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), a study from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The multicenter, international study aims to end Parkinson disease, which is expected to double worldwide by 2040, to more than 14 million people.

Several modifiable lifestyle factors were associated with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in a patient cohort from the Netherlands, including smoking, alcohol consumption, and stress.

This study investigated long-term cardiac-related mortality as it relates to incidence of perioperative adverse cardiac events (excluding death) in the first 30 days after surgery among a short of patients who underwent non–cardiac-related surgery.

Addressing the opioid crisis will require a strong, multifaceted approach that includes efforts to prevent addiction before it begins. By passing the NOPAIN Act, Congress can seize the win-win opportunity to reduce unnecessary exposure to opioids, while protecting—and expanding—a patient’s right to choose their own care.

Davey Daniel, MD, chief medical officer, OneOncology, speaks on the knowledge, infrastructure, and payer-related barriers that are limiting the use of genomic testing in the management of patients with lung cancer.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, addresses considerations for getting a second COVID-19 booster, or a fourth dose, among survivors of breast cancer or patients currently undergoing treatment as well as those who may be immunocompromised.

Stephen Rozzo, PhD, associate vice president and head, Biologics Medical Affairs, Sun Pharma, North America, spoke on the design of the 2 phase 4 real-world studies investigating severity and quality of life impact of tildrakizumab for the treatment of psoriasis.

Bristol Myers Squibb settles lawsuit on conspiring to block generic competition to HIV drugs; FDA grants emergency use authorization to a novel breath test that can detect COVID-19 within 3 minutes; health savings accounts (HSAs) are being used less effectively by minority and low-income populations.

To mark Black Maternal Health Week, The American Journal of Managed Care® sat down with Breana Lipscomb, the senior advisor of Maternal Health & Rights at the Center for Reproductive rights, to better understand how the United States came to have such poor maternal care, and what can be done to address disparities.

Elaine Siegfried, MD, professor of pediatrics and dermatology, Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, explains current knowledge on the pathology of atopic dermatitis and use of targeted biologic therapies.