Briana Contreras

Articles by Briana Contreras

The approval of the generic version of smoking-cessation drug Chantix (varenicline) garnered a lot of attention as did the OKs of Besremi (ropeginterferon alfa-2b-njft), a treatment for polycythemia vera, and Trudhesa (dihydroergotamine mesylate), a nasal spray for acute treatment of migraines.

Briana Contreras, associate editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, spoke with Shara Cohen, CEO of Carallel, an organization built to support caregivers, in this week's podcast. Shara shared not only who caregivers are and the vital role they play in healthcare, but the challenges they face. She also discussed ways health plans can do better to meet the needs of today’s caregivers.

Briana Contreras, associate editor of Managed Healthcare Executive spoke with WellRight CEO, Neepa Patel, on the topic of wellness programs in healthcare and the need for employers and health plans to roll out new, effective, holistic and innovative programs for patients. Patel did discuss the challenges that some organization can face when rolling out these programs, but she explained how accessible, affordable and beneficial these programs are for patients mental health and wellbeing.

In this week’s episode Briana Contreras, associate editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, met with Greg Miller, vice president of Industry Strategy, Healthcare and Life Sciences at Talkdesk. The two discussed that while virtual care has become a convenient tool in healthcare during the pandemic and has helped treat more patients, this form of care isn’t completely solving patient’s underlying issues. However, Miller shared how AI is helping ease the patient experience and improving care in this conversation.

Managed Healthcare Executive® recently interviewed Jacqueline Glascock, Ph.D., the director of research programs at Cure SMA, an nonprofit organization in Elk Grove, Illinois, that funds research into spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and advocates for families and patients. In this video, Glascock discusses SMA and her organization, the three current therapies for the disease, and a combination therapy approach to the disease.

Briana Contreras, associate editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, spoke with Josh Benner, founder and CEO of RxAnte, in this latest episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast. In the conversation, Benner addressed the issue of medication misuse among patients based on access, demographics and more, as well as its solutions. The two also talked about the role technology has on the future of pharmacy and how solutions provided through RxAnte can assist plans to improve their CMS Start rating measures.

In this episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast, Senior Editor of MHE, Peter Wehrwein, and Associate Editor, Briana Contreras, spoke with President and CEO of CareOregon, Eric Hunter, for another episode of the Meet the Board podcast series. Hunter, who has been on MHE’s Editorial Advisory Board for over a year now, shared how his career in healthcare kick-started, what managed care has become over time, how Medicaid is organized in Oregon and more.

Evie Powell, Ph.D., virtual reality architect at Proprio, is one of the emerging health leaders featured in the October 2021 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive. In this video she talks about the career achievement that has given her the greatest satisfaction and who has had the greatest influence in her life, which is her Ph.D. adviser and a professor at North Carolina State University, Tiffany Barnes.

Michael Palantoni, vice president of platform services at Athenahealth, is one of the emerging health leaders featured in the October 2021 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive. In this video he talks about the career achievement that has given him the greatest satisfaction and who has had the greatest influence in his life, which is his wife.

Shantanu Nundy, M.D., MBA, chief medical officer at Accolade, is one of the emerging health leaders featured in the October 2021 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive. In this video he talks about the career achievement that has given him the greatest satisfaction and who has had the greatest influence in his life, which are his parents, sister and aunt and uncle.

Rachel Goldberg, B.S.N, RN, director of behavioral health client partnerships and product innovation at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, is one of the emerging health leaders featured in the October 2021 issue of Managed Healthcare Executive. In this video she talks about the career achievement that has given her the greatest satisfaction and who has had the greatest influence on her life.

In this week’s episode, Managed Healthcare Executive Associate Editor Briana Contreras had the pleasure of meeting CEO of Quanterix and founder of Powering Precision Health, Kevin Hrusovsky. Quanterix is a blood-based biomarker analysis company. In this discussion, the two discussed Powering Precision Health and some tools like the Disruptive Innovation 5-step model that brings his vision closer of detecting and improving the health of patients sooner.