AJMC in the Press, July 1, 2016

HealthIT Analytics followed up on a commentary published this month in Evidence-Based Oncology (EBO), the multistakeholder publication of The American Journal of Managed Care focused on cancer care delivery. Jennifer Bresnick covered the piece on CancerLinQ by its medical director, Robert S. Miller, MD, FACP, FASCO, of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, noting it is one of several attempts to bring Big Data analytics to clinicians at the point of care. Miller’s commentary is part of the EBO special June issue on quality measures, which are becoming an important feature of care delivery for payers. For the full commentary, click here.

A 2015 study in The American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC) that calculated the value of lost time to see the doctor—which averaged $43 per visit—was cited in a recent article from Rush University Medical Center on the potential of telemedicine for easing the lives of patients with Parkinson’s disease, and that of their caregivers. The original AJMC study put a number behind what so many patients already know—the time spent driving to the doctor or sitting in the waiting room has as much value (even more, it turns out), than the cost of a co-payment. Rush University noted that in Parkinson’s care, this opportunity costs doubles because a caregiver typically must take time from work to accompany the patient. Right now, Rush is absorbing the telemedicine costs during a pilot study. The 2015 study by Kristin N. Ray, MD, MS, et al, can be found here.