For patients with diabetes or high blood cholesterol, greater medication adherence is associated with a greater likelihood that the patient will achieve target biometric A1c and low-density lipoprotein levels, respectively, according to a poster session presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy meeting.
During their session at the AMPC conference in Orlando, presenters identified several diabetes management approaches that are improving medication adherence.
Partner with community-based organizations to implement quality diabetes programs for the Hispanic population.
Further research may determine whether changing sedentary behavior will reduce long-term outcomes.
Canadian study shows certain ethnic groups face higher heart disease risk factors than they did a decade ago.
A medical group in New York is rapidly shifting toward “value-based” care from fee-for-service (FFS)-spurred on by a program to reduce variations in physician practice that began by focusing on patients with diabetes.
Spending on healthcare can be good, but in the case of diabetes, more spending likely means worsening outcomes.
Diabetes costs $322 billion per year in the U.S. Help empower consumers for a healthier bottom line.
Payers and providers alike cite benefits from utilizing telemedicine as a strategy for diabetes care management. Here are two success stories.
A leading pharmaceutical company is partnering with payers to help lower COPD complications.
Patients to assist insurer, association in creating program to ensure its relevancy and practicality for those with diabetes.
As the number of people with diabetes in the U.S. continues to climb, plans and integrated health systems are employing personalized strategies to help manage the disease.
If we can accurately understand each patient’s risk for disease, we can create more nuanced preventive care plans and better invest our resources.
In this blog, the vice president of medical affairs for Quest Diagnostics discusses how Medicaid expansion has impacted diabetes diagnoses.
People in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act are far more likely to be newly identified with diabetes than in non-expansion states, according to a study published online in Diabetes Care.
It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
FDA has approved a combination of the generic drugs naltrexone and bupropion (Contrave) for chronic weight management in obese adults (body mass index [BMI] >30 kg/m2). This combination agent has also been approved for use in those patients who are overweight (BMI >27 kg/m2) and have at least one weight-related comorbid condition such as diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia.
The federal government’s cost for Medicare Part D will increase between $2.9 billion and $5.8 billion if we see 15% to 30% of hepatitis C (HCV)-infected beneficiaries receive treatment in 2015 and the cost of treatment averages $84,000, according to a new study by Milliman.
The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Patients treated by physicians in designated medical homes reduced overall medical costs by 21% in the first year
FDA has approved a new indication for ofatumumab (Arzerra, GlaxoSmithKline and Genmab), a CD20-directed cytolytic monoclonal antibody, in combination with chlorambucil for the treatment of previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) for whom fludarabine-based therapy is considered inappropriate.
FDA has approved the Timothy Grass Pollen Allergen Extract (Grastek, Merck) sublingual tablet as immunotherapy to treat grass pollen-induced allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis in children as young as 5 years of age and adults up to the age of 65. The tablet is a new option for patients who decline allergy shots.
Evidence shows that the traditional approach is not effective.
Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.
