Health Care Delivery

The US government is increasing access of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pill to all pharmacies nationwide; stark hospitalization rates in unvaccinated children; a steady increase observed in US influenza cases and hospitalizations.

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps identified several unmet needs regarding their condition, particularly a lack of public and physician awareness on disease burden and poor sleep quality.

Continual nutrition modification is crucial in patients with moderate to advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), and more interactive at-home solutions hold potential to improve nutritional nursing models after hospital discharge. 

This new study investigated and compared the incidence of disordered eating behavior (DEB) among 2 cohorts of patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) treated with continuous-subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) or a basal-bolus regimen.

By creating a framework for social determinants of health that explores patients’ needs and prioritizes team members’ response, specialty practices can more effectively strengthen health equity, access to care, and health outcomes.

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.