More Evidence of Mental Health Services Shifting to Telehealth: Health Affairs Study
April 13th 2022Findings published in the April issue of Health Affairs show a huge jump in telehealth visits, but the researchers also detected that a pattern that suggests that people with conditions such as schizophrenia did not make the switch to telehealth as readily as people with anxiety and some other disorders.
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Finding a Way Forward for Public Health - Greater Investment, Greater Distrust
April 13th 2022“The most remarkable change in patterns of health during the (past) century has been the largely successful conquest of infectious diseases,” wrote Allan Brandt, Harvard medical historian, in “No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States Since 1880."
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AMCP 2022: RWE Research Keeps Coming on Strong, Say JMCP Editor-in-Chief
April 1st 2022Real-world studies are increasing as real-world data for new drugs for cancer and autoimmune disease have “matured,” says Laura E. Happe, Pharm.D., M.P.H., the editor-in-chief of Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy.
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“Popping a pill” makes cancer treatment more convenient, but research presented at the AMCP annual meetings shows that almost half of cancer patients on oral therapies are nonadherent. Oral administration typically moves a drug to the pharmacy benefit, which can mean high out-of-pocket costs and, in turn, nonadherence.
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Prevalence of Alopecia Areata Is Increasing | AMCP 2022
March 31st 2022Using a claims database, researchers found a steady increase in the prevalence of alopecia areata from 2016 to 2019 among those with employer-based health insurance. They also found a higher prevalence and incidence rate among women than among men.
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Atopic Dermatitis Treatment is a Good News Story, Say Symposium Panelists | AMCP 2022
March 30th 2022Dupixent (dupilumab) ushered in a new era and a growing number of treatment options has brought awareness to the condition. But the panelists also discussed problems with step therapy, delays and denials of treatment and the lack of a “gold standard” test for diagnosis.
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How Many Would Benefit From an Out-of-Pocket Cap on Insulin?
March 28th 2022Kaiser Family Foundation researcher found that 26% of those with an insulin prescription who have bought health insurance coverage in the individual market would benefit from a cap of $35 on monthly out-of-pocket costs for insulin.
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Direct Contracting Between Healthcare Providers, Individuals at Hint Health, per COO Mark Nolan
March 9th 2022Chief Operating Officer of Hint Health, Mark Nolan, discussed direct contracting in healthcare among his organization with Managing Editor of Managed Healthcare Executive, Peter Wehrwein, in this week's episode of Tuning In to the C-Suite podcast.
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Study: Removing Naïve T Cells is a Promising Strategy for Reducing GVHD
March 8th 2022Results reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggest filtering naïve T cells from peripheral blood stem cell transplants may decrease the risk of chronic graft-versus-host-disease. An accompanying editorial says a randomized trial is needed to provide definitive proof.
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Phase 3 Trial of First-line Treatment for Acute GVHD is Underway
March 8th 2022The 200-patient trial will test whether adding a monoclonal antibody called itolizumab to high doses of corticosteroids will improve outcomes for patients who develop acute graft-versus-host-disease after a stem cell transplant.
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Why Managed Care Cares About Prescription Drug Spending
March 4th 2022When managed care got started in the early ’80s, the focus was on physician and hospital services. Primary care doctors were positioned as gatekeepers, controlling referrals to specialists. Insurers came under a lot of criticism for shortening hospital stays. Now much of the managed care energy is trained on drug costs.
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Study: Here’s Some Evidence That Switching Among Generic Levothyroxine Products Is OK
March 1st 2022Guidelines tell prescribers and patients to avoid switching among levothyroxine products from different manufacturers. But Mayo Clinc-led research finds little difference between switchers and nonswitchers.
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UCSF Research: No Synergy From Valued-based Programs for Primary Care Organizations
February 26th 2022Ideally, value-based and technology programs combine to produce better outcomes. But researchers at University of California, San Francisco, found little evidence of synergy in the meaningful use, patient-centered medical home and Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO program.
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