A new working paper wonders if increased access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone is actually doing more harm than good; medical students are not only learning clinical skills but also how to deliver emotionally fraught information; lawmakers in Connecticut and Minnesota are introducing bills to impose work requirements in Medicaid.
As the opioid epidemic worsens, access to naloxone has increased as police departments have begun stocking the drug. A new working paper questions the value of naloxone and whether increased access to the overdose-reversal drug is actually doing harm, according to STAT. The analysis found that, as states passed laws increasing access to naloxone, opioid-related emergency department visits increased with no decrease in mortality. The authors believe that increased access to naloxone is removing a deterrent to risky behavior.
Students at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) are being asked to show that they not only are learning clinical skills, but also how to admit a medical mistake or deliver emotionally fraught information, such as a death notice. Kaiser Health News reported that OHSU’s revamped curriculum for medical students now includes standards for communication, ethics, and professionalism. This is part of a larger nationwide effort to help practicing doctors talk about death and dying.
Republicans in 2 more states are introducing bills that would add work requirements to their Medicaid programs. In Connecticut, the bill being promoted would not only impose work requirements for Medicaid but also eliminate exemptions for work requirements for some food stamp recipients. The state’s governor has previously announced his opposition to Medicaid work requirements. In Minnesota, bills are being introduced in both the state House and Senate. It is estimated that work requirements would affect 125,000 residents who do not have a disability and receive Medicaid. So far, the cost of enforcing work requirements in Minnesota is unclear.
Survival, PROs Favor Cemiplimab Plus Chemotherapy vs Chemotherapy Alone in Advanced NSCLC
December 4th 2023For patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), regardless of PD-L1 status, cemiplimab plus chemotherapy had favorable survival benefits and patient-reported outcomes over chemotherapy alone.
Read More
Understanding the Unmet Need for Therapies to Treat Rare Bile Duct Cancer
May 24th 2022On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we bring you an excerpt of an interview with a co-chair of the 2022 Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF) annual conference, held earlier this year, about the significant unmet therapy needs facing most patients with this rare cancer.
Listen
Consumers should not eat precut cantaloupe if they do not know the source, as the number of illnesses and recalls tied to a deadly salmonella outbreak grows; the White House and the Department of Education urged schools to take proactive steps to prevent youth drug use; a study published this week found a high prevalence of arrhythmia in patients with long COVID.
Read More