Briana Contreras

Albert S. Khouri, M.D., a professor of ophthalmology at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, discusses teleophthalmology’s role in outreach efforts and improving ophthalmic care in the emergency room.

Albert S. Khouri, M.D., says ophthalmic care lends itself to telehealth because it is image based. As with many other areas of medicine, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption.

Delivering medication in the suprachoroidal space would be less invasive than intravitreal injections used to deliver many eye treatments.

Suber S. Huang, M.D., MBA, a panelist for a session about late-breaking research, said the presentation about Syfovre complications among patients treated at the Wolfe Eye Clinic in Iowa is one of the most important of this year's annual meeting. Five patients experienced complications from the new drug for geographic atrophy.

The announcement has triggered a wave of concerns among users of eye-care products, particularly in those designed to alleviate dry and irritated eyes.

Data from the study revealed that about half of the patients did not receive any treatment during their 12-month follow-up.

As the HIV epidemic rises in China, Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) face various mental health difficulties, including suicide ideation, depression and stigma.

The risk of stroke is not as likely for adults 65 years and above who have taken the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 bivalent vaccines. However, there may be an elevated risk of stroke when COVID boosters are paired with high-dose flu vaccines, particularly in adults 85-years-old and above.

Authors of a recent JAMA Network Open study expressed there have been few reported COVID surveillance studies of childcare centers and none in the U.S. Authors stress that it's essential for policymakers to understand the real risk of COVID spread in CCCs and households so they can apply suitable mitigation measures if there were to be another surge or new variants to come about.

Managing Editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, Peter Wehrwein, had a discussion with William Shrank, M.D., a venture partner with Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm in Menlo Park, California, about how artificial intelligence's role is improving healthcare, where we are today with value-based care and the ongoing efforts of reducing waste in the healthcare space for this episode of the "What's on Your Mind" podcast series.

In a platinum award winning poster presented at the AMCP Nexus 2023 conference in Orlando, “Specialty drug use varies by race and wage among employees with employer-sponsored health insurance,” authors expressed that spending on specialty medications for autoimmune conditions has increased in recent years, raising affordability concerns for employers.

Adopting evolving computer system tools like artificial intelligence and machine learning in managed care pharmacies have resulted in efficiency when addressing the challenges they are faced with, according to Jessica Hatton, PharmD, BCACP, associate vice president of Pharmacy at CareSource and Nick Trego, PharmD, senior vice president of Clinical Analytics and Client Services at HealthPlan Data Solutions, Inc.

Jessica Hatton, PharmD, BCACP, associate vice president of Pharmacy at CareSource caught up with MHE to discuss value assessment tools and their use in the managed care pharmacy space. This topic and more were addressed by Hatton during her presentation today in Orlando at the AMCP Nexus 2023 conference.

In a session presented at the AMCP Nexus 2023 conference in Orlando, Adam Colborn, JD, director of Government Relations at AMCP, discussed how the recent ERISA preemption rule influenced employer pharmacy benefits, and also highlighted a policy that hasn't received much attention in the managed care pharmacy space: California's CalRx Biosimilar Insulin Initiative.

Adam Colborn, JD, director of Government Relations at AMCP, addressed topics at this year's AMCP Nexus conference in Orlando such as transparency, cost sharing mandates and variables that affect the supply and demand curve for pharmaceuticals within legislation at a federal, but mainly state level. Colborn also touched on the large PBM reform regulation happening currently in New York as it could be a model that other states can follow.

Patient affordability and access to specialty drugs and cell and gene therapies are just a couple of priorities self-insured employers should keep in mind when managing specialty spend, according to Shawna Ricker, PharmD, clinical pharmacist consultant of Clinical Client Strategy at Highmark, Inc.

Shawna Ricker, PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist Consultant, Clinical Client Strategy, Highmark, Inc., who co-presented at this year's AMCP Nexus conference in Orlando, shares some best practices for health plans that work with self-insured employers.

If you want a strong workforce, you need to build it to be diverse and inclusive, said members of a panel on diversity and inclusion.

At this year’s ID Week conference in Boston, Igho Ofotokun, MD, MSc, FIDSA, Grady Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Emory University School of Medicine, shared the latest data that COVID-19 research team, RECOVER, has gathered on Long COVID and its symptoms.

The impact of alcohol use on SVR is less certain as some payers and clinicians have different guidelines as far as alcohol abstinence and receiving DAA therapy.

Researchers of a phase 3 trial aimed to determine whether statins, specifically pitavastatin, could reduce the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events among HIV patients, as the risk of cardiovascular disease is increased in those with HIV infection.

In a population-based cohort study, researchers explored the mortality of vitiligo as there is limited information about risks of mortality among these patients. The researchers investigated all-cause and cause-specific mortality of patients with vitiligo compared with controls without vitiligo using a nationwide database.

The new NIH-funded study has shed light on the challenges faced by pregnant individuals living with HIV as hypertensive disorders in pregnancy pose a crucial health risk to expectant mothers.

Aside from leading Upfront Healthcare’s Bartosch Patient Activation Institute, Lindsay Zimmerman, Ph.D., M.P.H., vice president of the organization, said treating herself to a snack like popcorn dressed in parmesan cheese while in bed is a guilty pleasure for her.

There are nine grant awards of $1 million each for up to 5 years — totaling to overall $45 million in grants — that would mainly support underserved, rural, vulnerable, and minority populations that are disproportionately impacted by the effects of Long COVID

When compared to a double reading of a mammogram screening by two radiologists, a double reading by one radiologist plus AI demonstrated a 4% higher non-inferior cancer detection rate, highlighting the potential of AI in enhancing cancer detection in mammography screening.

Melissa A. Soliz, J.D., of Coppersmith Brockelman PLC is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Soliz recommends the book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot to those in healthcare because "it is a compelling portrayal of how the law, ethics, ownership and business interests, and health inequities impact patient care and the advancement of that care from a generational perspective."

Hannah Ratcliffe, M.Sc., of Waymark, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, she shared one of the best pieces of professional advice she had ever received, which is understanding that every context and situation in healthcare is different from the next.