News

For personalized therapies to be incorporated into a plan's coverage, a commercially insured enrollee would need to stay with the plan for many years, as more expensive therapies require longer member retention to break even, according to Deloitte.

Individual, or short-term insurance is on the rise as more Americans face transitions due to difficult economic times.

As more Americans postpone healthcare due to the recession, Managed care executives need to get out in front of this issue now to start thinking about ways to provide monitoring and stop-gap care for those who need it most.

Federal government lags when it comes to domestic partners' equal treatment in benefit, but states make progress.

CPOE has received attention to reduce medication errors and adverse drug reactions, but adoption has been slow, according to data from the 2008 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

New federal health IT leaders need to focus more on personal health records, says one expert.

FTC's August 1 enforcement of Red Flags rules to reduce identity theft requires healthcare providers to have written policies on how they will respond to the "red flags" of identity theft.

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is confirmed as HHS Secretary.

Health plan industry keeps stakeholders informed in the midst of the swine flu outbreak.

The economic stimulus package approved by Congress in February provides more than $1 billion to support research on competing medical treatments. Although a fairly minor piece of the larger $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the provision set off widespread reaction to the possibility that comparative study results may be used to limit coverage of more expensive medicines.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and the leading cause of disability in the United States, especially among older adults. This article reviews nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches to management of OA of the knee and hip.

Liraglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue that is currently pending FDA approval for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This agent mimics the actions of food-induced endogenous GLP-1 release, thus causing glucose-dependent increased insulin secretion, decreased glucagon secretion, and reduced appetite and gastric emptying.

Generic drugs approved by FDA (through May 2009) including drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol, levalbuterol, and topiramate

Recent FDA action (through May 2009) related to budesonide/formoterol, sertindole, quetiapine, saxagliptin, bevacizumab, dronedarone, and ofatumumab

New indication: Tigecycline (Tygacil), a tetracycline-class antibiotic, was approved on March 20, 2009, for the treatment of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia

New molecular entity: Everolimus (Afinitor), an antineoplastic agent, was approved on March 30, 2009, for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma after failure of treatment with sunitinib or sorafenib

Because so many people nowadays seem to be using cell phones rather than computers and e-mail to stay in touch, telemedicine programs are taking note of this trend and beginning to rely more on mobile phone technology.

Agents in late-stage development for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

United says it has no plans to follow suit by selling off its pharmacy benefit services. WellPoint will oursource now.

Employers' dependent eligibility audits find 5% don't belong on the plan. Next step is voluntary opt-out followed by removal.

Policy makers focus on consumer protection and health plan conduct

As patient dissatisfaction grows with the U.S. healthcare system, consumers are shopping for value in all healthcare service areas.

Efficiency and patient satisfaction are fueling the growth of self-service kiosks in ambulatory and ER settings.

Prescription drug trends show that the underinsured may be voluntarily opting out of compliance due to affordability issues. Lower copayments may be key to curbing this.

Stand for Quality, a public-private coalition, has developed a quality-improvement and affordability framework.

University of South Florida and Allscripts push paper-free prescribing while touting the availability of stimulus funding for e-health.

As community clinics in California struggle to meet patient needs, there's a realization that there needs to be a better balance between supply and demand.

Wal-Mart's EHR package offered to physicians may require more than just its marketing presence.