AJMC® in the Press, January 6, 2017

The National Pharmaceutical Council’s daily newsletter e-mail on January 5 highlighted a news article by The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®)'s Surabhi Dangi-Garimella, PhD. The article, “HTA Study Raises Questions on Real-World Benefits of Newly Approved Cancer Drugs,” examined the findings of a retrospective study in JAMA Oncology that “analyzed health technology assessment reports for 62 new anticancer drugs approved in Europe and the United States” in a 10-year timeframe. It indicated that real-world benefits like overall survival vary widely by drug and by disease type.

A recent AJMC^® infographic, “Making Sense of MACRA,” which summarized the timelines and options associated with the Quality Payment Program established under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), was cited in an EHR Intelligence article, “Avoiding Financial Implications of Quality Payment Program.” In the article, author Sara Heath used the infographic’s timeline to explain how physicians can avoid negative payment adjustments under the new rule.

A Watchdog article imploring readers to “Meet the Nonprofit That Helps State Governments Ration Your Health Care” profiled the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). Author Johnny Kampis quoted an interview between Dangi-Garimella, of AJMC^®'s Evidence-Based Oncology™, and ICER president and founder Steven Pearson, MD, MSc, FRCP, in which he discussed the group’s payer-focused framework.

In an article by Vera Gruessner, Health Payer Intelligence summarized the findings of a study from the recent Evidence-Based Diabetes Management™ special issue with the American Association of Diabetes Educators. The research, “Diabetes Educators in Accountable Care Organizations: Meeting Quality Measures Through Diabetes Self-Management Education and Care Coordination,” explained how diabetes educators can be a valuable resource in managing this chronic disease.