AJMC® in the Press, October 18, 2019

A study published in the January health information technology issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) assessed whether hospital participation in alternative payment models is associated with greater engagement in health information exchange. The study, “Alternative Payment Models and Hospital Engagement in Health Information Exchange,” was highlighted in an article by Health Data Management.

The University of North Carolina Health Care System cited an article from a supplement to AJMC^® in its press release on the National Cancer Institute’s grant of $1.87 million to researchers of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center to study the impact of implementing financial navigation services. The article, titled “Impact of Trained Oncology Financial Navigators on Patient Out-of-Pocket Spending,” reported on hospitals that used trained financial navigators to provide financial assistance to patients with cancer, providing access to care that would otherwise be unaffordable.

OBR Daily’s featured oncology news headlines for Wednesday included an article from AJMC^®'s sister site The Center for Biosimilars^® titled “Oncologist Experience With Rituximab Factors Into Early Discontinuation Rate.” The article details how the less experience an oncologist has with administering rituximab, the more likely a Medicare beneficiary with non-Hodgkin lymphoma is to discontinue treatment.

Eastern Arizona Courier’s article on the treatment of breast cancer through the combination of Alpelisib, sold as Piqray, and Fulvestrant, a hormone therapy for the treatment of men and postmenopausal women, referenced an article posted on AJMC.com, “FDA Approves First Breast Cancer Drug to Target PIK3CA Mutation Plus Companion Diagnostic Test,” which detailed how this was the first novel drug approved by the FDA under the Real-Time Oncology Review pilot program.

An article published by The Post and Courier detailed a potential preventive peanut allergy treatment that uses a peanut powder treatment called Palforzia to help reduce peanut allergy reactions. The article references a study in a 2018 AJMC^® supplement, “The Economic Impact of Peanut Allergies,” to highlight the significant increase in the prevalence of peanut allergies in the United States.