Managed Care Minute: May 9, 2015

A one-minute look at managed care news during the week of May 4, 2015, including global cancer drug spend, movements in telehealth, and changing behavior to reverse poor health.

This week IMS Health reported that total global cancer drug spending hit the $1 billion mark in 2014, up 10.3% from 5 years earlier. This growth was driven by earlier diagnosis, longer treatment duration, and increased effectiveness of cancer therapies.

Telehealth received a boost this week when UnitedHealth announced that through its coverage for doctor visits via telemedicine, 20 million Americans could access telemedicine and receive coverage for it by next year.

Thomas Morrow, MD, wrote in a contributed article to AJMC.com that behavior modifications are the keys to improving health outcomes. Dr Morrow is just one of AJMC.com's many contributors. You can see more here. If you are interested in becoming an AJMC.com contributor sign up here.