Policy

Higher use of performance-based payment mechanisms and capitated arrangements is associated with a decrease in the amount of time physicians spend with patients with cancer.

Active expert peer-to-peer consultation with prescribing oncologists can promote adherence to guidelines and lead to cost reductions without risk of neutropenic fever, with or without hospitalization, for patients with cancer.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy for low- to intermediate-risk prostate cancer has potential cost savings and may improve access to radiation, increase convenience, and boost quality of life.

Payment reform may be used to better align appropriate financial incentives with better quality of care.

This cost-effectiveness analysis of care options for group A streptococcus patients is the first to include community pharmacy as a possible point of care.

In this segment, Dr. Farzad Mostashari highlights both the financial and non-financial challenges providers face when implementing electronic medical records.

Patrick P. Gleason, PharmD, Director of Clinical Outcomes Assessment, Prime Therapeutics, discusses the rates at which patients will not follow a prescribed therapeutic plan due to cost-sharing. Specifically, patients starting multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and oral oncology medication regimens with more than a $100 cost-share will be less likely to start the drug therapy.

ProvenHealth Navigator, Geisinger's version of advanced patient-centered medical homes, is associated with significant savings in total cost of care over time.

How Much Do We Spend and How Can We Spend It Better?

Randell "RJ" Correia, PharmD, Senior Vice President, Pharmacy Services, Optum Rx, addresses the rapid rise of specialty pharmacy spending. Dr. Correia discusses the possible complications health reform exchanges may cause and the impact they will have on the future of pharmacy benefit drug management.

With so many factors at play, it can be difficult to assess the true impact of generic drugs on healthcare costs.

Health Plans Continue to Seek Methods to Curtail Cancer Costs

Bimal Patel, PharmD, MS, Director, Health Outcomes Research, MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., discusses MedImpact's work to identify, analyze, and evaluate generic medications that have become significantly expensive, and effective strategies for managing these costs.

To set priorities for quality improvement in trauma triage, we compared the cost-effectiveness of current practice with interventions to improve physician adherence to clinical guidelines.