Briana Contreras

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.

Sherry Rais, M.Sc., CEO and co-founder, Enthea, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, she recommends "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich to not only those in healthcare, but all readers as the book illustrates the ways in which inequality affects people’s access to healthcare.

Jason Prestinario of Particle Health is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Prestinario said sports betting is an interest of his as much of it is built from his background of high school and club college sports, being a fan of competition and even pursuing his career as a data scientist.

Researchers of a study investigated the association between health-related physical fitness and liver function indicators in hopes of finding potential preventative measures and personalized exercise prescriptions for those living with liver complications.

In a JAMA Network Open study published Sept. 11, researchers wanted to take a deeper look into PrEP regimens’ impact on cardiometabolic health, as it is understudied. To do so they examined the risk of incident hypertension and statin use among adult health plan members starting PrEP with tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) compared adults taking tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF).

Nora Lozano-Evjen of Equality Health, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Lozano-Evjen shared that after she moved to the United States from Mexico City, she became involved as a prevention specialist for two U.S. school districts, which introduced her to health and social disparities impacting underserved communities — especially those of color. The exposure to these realities pushed her toward the community health worker model she believes in today.

Managed Healthcare Executive's Managing Editor Peter Wehrwein, and Editor Briana Contreras, had a discussion in July with Mostafa Kamal, president and CEO of Prime Therapeutics, an organization in which Kamal acquired this position that same month.

Sanjula Jain, Ph.D., chief research officer at Trilliant Health, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Jain shared that although she has an affinity for data-driven interpretations, she enjoys going down the rabbit hole of reading horoscope predictions and the personality descriptions of zodiac signs.

Kevonne Holloway, MBA, managing director, Global Content Partners, Elsevier, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Holloway recommended "The Light We Carry," a book by Michelle Obama, as a must-read as it describes how everyone has a light inside of them that illuminates the way for others.

Vaccine manufacturers have publicly announced that the boosters would be ready this fall, and the FDA anticipates they will be available “in the near future.”

Russell Graney, Founder and CEO of Aidin, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Graney talked about appreciating advice he received from healthcare veterans during the start-up of Aidin, but sifting through the right input for his business.

Kyna Fong, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder, Elation Health, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In an interview with MHE, Fong shared a guilty pleasure of her's is Na Ya Dessert Cafe in San Francisco's Hayes Valley. In addition to a guilty pleasure, Fong also talked about a career turning point she experienced, and what book she recommends to healthcare professionals.

Mike Steelman, vice president, Managed Markets, Dexcom presented on the pathways to implement non-prescription digital therapeutics at the 2023 PBMI Annual National Conference in Orlando. In this interview with Managed Healthcare Executive, Steelman suggests that creating "certainty in an uncertain world" in the digital therapeutic space could potentially open up doors for further use of these tools.

Mike Baldzicki, chief commercial officer, Premier Pharmacy Services, shared some takeaways from his presentation on the rare-ultra orphan disease market and its therapies at the 2023 PBMI Annual National Conference in Orlando.

At the 2023 PBMI Annual National Conference in Orlando, Ellen Feeney, director of Clinical Pharmacy Strategies at Highmark discusses how these new programs payers are using to control medication costs work, and shares how costs of the GLP-1s should be managed.

Alina M. Czekai, M.P.H., vice president, value-based care strategy, Cohere Health, is one of 12 winners in this year's Emerging Leaders in Healthcare feature. In this video interview, Czekai shares a turning point that changed her career trajectory, recommends a good read for healthcare professionals, and even spills her guilty pleasure: some time with the "Real Housewives" and a glass of red wine.

The first-ever machine learning-based model was developed to provide preoperative predictions of weight trajectories up to 5 years after surgery, simultaneously for three of the most common types of bariatric surgery.