Health Management

COVID-19 spotlights the threat that cardiovascular disease poses to Americans; new technology may help address risk factors at the population health level.

Jagdish Khubchandani, a Health Science professor at Ball State University, provides tips and reminders to help keep one of the most vulnerable populations safe during the continuous battle of COVID-19. Some tips not only include frequent hand-washing and wearing masks, but getting enough sleep is also just as important.

Three healthcare organizations provide models for managing the disease and keeping a close eye on the bottom line.

MHE's Briana Contreras spoke with CEO of Scripta, Eric Levin. The two discussed the current state of the pharmacy benefit market and how the Scripta organization has been assisting its clients and their prescriptions prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and during.

Jim Beiermann, CFO, and Danny Irland, senior vice president of network operations and chief network officer of Southwestern Health Resources discuss their focus of value-based care through ACO and Next Generation Programs within the company with Managed Healthcare Executive Senior Editor, Peter Wehrwein.

The healthcare tech company will assist health plans in meeting Care for Older Adults requirements.

Jim Beiermann and Danny Irland, both of Southwestern Health Resources, discuss their focus of value-based care through ACO and Next Generation Programs.

Of the 87% of executives who see convergence already happening, 89% say it is accelerating—up from 21% who said the same in 2018.

Early studies from China suggested that CT scans of the lungs could be used to diagnose the disease. But as PCR tests became available, radiology groups said CT scans should be used more sparingly and in confirmed cases.

During the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 Annual Meeting, Flatiron Health, Foundation Medicine, and Genentech presented plans for the Prospective Clinico-Genomic study (PCG), a low-interventional pilot that will use a technology-enabled prospective data collection platform to simplify data collection for patients with lung cancer being treated through clinical trials. The idea is collect blood samples using Foundation Medicine’s liquid biopsy assay and analyze the results through Flatiron’s platform, to see if genomic changes can be detected over the course of cancer treatment. Bobby Green, MD, chief medical officer for Flatiron Health, spoke with Managed Healthcare Executive®.

The two PCSK9 inhibitors have fallen far short of expectations. Inclisiran, which works by RNA inference, only needs to be injected twice a year. 

Pharmacy benefit managers are taking steps to be more responsible for the total cost of care and to become more transparent, while adding technology tools to support patients, payers and physicians in a post-COVID-19 world.

As the pandemic enters its fourth month in the U.S., the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (the Innovation Center) has announced several changes that, on the whole, increase flexibility for program participants.

Early detection of low blood oxygen levels may detect ‘silent hypoxia’ seen in some patients with COVID-19. But the American Lung Association advises against buying a pulse oximeter unnecessarily.

Will produce recommendations for policymakers on crucial issues for future of remote care services.

Some hospitals were overwhelmed. But for many providers, COVID-19 has meant the absence of patients - and major drops in revenue. And now there is a possible economic downturn. COVID-19 has hit American healthcare and hit it hard.   

John Kalamaras, business intelligence analytics manager of DataGen, chats with Managed Healthcare Executive's Briana Contreras, about the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS’, recent announcement of the changes they’ve made for participants in their value-based programs, specifically those in bundled-care programs like BPCI Advanced, whose episodes were affected by COVID-19.

Health and healthcare inequities are the most likely explanation for the disproportionate effect.

Understandably, there is a lot of nervousness around how COVID-19 is going to affect the healthcare industry-both in the near-term as well as the distant future. As the organizations that will have to take on a majority of the financial and operational burden of the COVID pandemic, providers will be hit the hardest in the short-term. As a result, a majority of relief, both at federal and local levels, can be expected to be centered around rescuing providers post-COVID.

Despite everything we hear in the news lately, there is a silver lining to the Covid-19 cloud. For certain, the landscape of the Addiction Treatment Industry has changed and arguably, the old ways of doing business are no longer sustainable in this environment.

Filling a void left by the Trump Administration, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) recently announced a campaign to remind Americans who need health insurance because of the COVID-19 that they may be eligible for coverage through healthcare.gov.

Drug makers around the world are racing to develop the first effective COVID-19 vaccine. Early efforts show promise, but an anticipated jump in the novel coronavirus cases in the fall means the sooner a vaccine is developed, the more lives can be saved-and the pharmaceutical industry plays a major role in this discovery.

Three new scientific theories explaining that although autoimmune disease affects both genders, women are at an overwhelming disadvantage.