AJMC® in the Press, April 21, 2017

According to a Fierce Healthcare article, “It probably comes as no surprise that primary care physicians, who know their patients best, can accurately predict the likelihood those patients will end up in the hospital within the next year.” The article was referring to the findings of a study published in the April 2017 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). The research, titled “Can Primary Care Physicians Accurately Predict the Likelihood of Hospitalization in Their Patients?” found that physicians were indeed as effective in predicting hospitalizations as predictive algorithms.

A Health IT Analytics article about the top 4 ways to use blockchain for healthcare data management cited a 2015 AJMC^® study to illustrate the need for improvement in an area that could benefit from use of the information technology method. The study, “Usefulness of Pharmacy Claims for Medication Reconciliation in Primary Care,” found that 76.9% of patients had at least 1 medication discrepancy between pharmacy claims data and their electronic health record.

The daily e-newsletter from the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC) on Wednesday highlighted a recent AJMC^® newsroom article written by Surabhi Dangi-Garimella, PhD. The article, “PCORI-Funded Study Advises Patient Preference When Treating Prostate Cancer,” discussed a study in JAMA that suggested patients should have input in choosing their therapy for prostate cancer, as different treatments can have varying impacts on quality of life.

On Thursday, the NPC e-newsletter featured both an AJMC^® newsroom article, “NPC Offers Suggestions on FDA Off-Label Promotion Draft Guidance,” and a study from the April issue of the journal, “The Relationship Between Adherence and Total Spending Among Medicare Beneficiaries With Type 2 Diabetes.”