News

Healthcare learned lessons about access to patient data during past natural disasters and now are putting those lessons to work during this year's hurricane season

Insurers follow updated CMS rules regarding financial responsibility for egregious medical mistakes, do not pay list and never events

As goes the national economy, so goes healthcare. Unemployment will cause a rise in uninsured and Medicaid enrollment with higher spending ahead.

HHS is giving HIPAA enforcement efforts more teeth with fees and Corrective Action Plans

The Connecticut Department of Social Services launched Charter Oak Health Plan in June, a subsidized, public-private plan with no income limits and guaranteed issue. It's a suitable fit for the working uninsured, a target segment for other health reform coverage proposals nationwide.

Plans can no longer charge higher copays or limit the number of visits for behavioral or mental health benefits, thanks to a new law

Commonwealth Fund State Performance ranking: 26

Boomers have a vested interest in finding solutions to forthcoming long-term care crisis

Coverage expansion is taking a back seat as costly medical advances and the burden of obesity chew up more of the healthcare spending pie

As disease management programs have grown in size and scope, the importance of justifying their expense by demonstrating financial savings has become critical.

There are incalculable advantages to be gained from the use of clinical data in studying chronic diseases across communities and larger populations.

Hospital medicine groups yield cost savings of approximately 13% while delivering high quality care and patient satisfaction, irrespective of the business model.

Consumers would rather do their taxes than wade through their health benefits materials, but one managed care plan is offering free assistance to help make sense of it all.

Some brokers say wrap-arounds are helping their clients provide a policy that both employers and employees can afford, but insurers disagree. At least one broker has been terminated.

A RAND study indicates that convenient care clinics serve a population that commonly does not see a primary care physician regularly

The proposed transition to ICD-10 and HIPAA 5010 will lead to chaos, fraud, abuse and consumer dissatisfaction because the current timeline is unworkable

A survey by Aon Consulting indicates double-digit increases in claims costs for 2009 but employers can reduce costs with new strategies

Merck has announced that they are discontinuing development of taranabant, an investigational selective blocker of the cannabinoid-1 (CB-1) receptor that was being studied for the treatment of obesity.

The Long-Term Intervention on Fractures with Tibolone (LIFT) study demonstrated a reduced risk of vertebral fracture, breast cancer, and possibly colon cancer but a significantly increased risk of stroke in older postmenopausal women treated with tibolone versus those treated with placebo.

FDA announced that the agency has posted on its website a report listing drugs that are being investigated for potential safety concerns.

Genentech informed healthcare professionals that a 70-year-old patient who has been treated with efalizumab (Raptiva) for chronic psoriasis for >4 years has developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare, progressive disease of the central nervous system that is usually fatal.

In the Understanding Potential Long-Term Impacts on Function with Tiotropium (UPLIFT) trial, tiotropium therapy for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with long-term improvements in lung function, quality of life, and COPD exacerbations. The therapy did not, however, significantly reduce the rate of decline in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) compared with placebo.

Drug Watch: Agents in late-stage development for the treatment of hepatitis B and C virus infections (October 2008)

Even though the Medicare prescription drug benefit has provided access to medications at less-than-anticipated cost to the government-and lower out-of-pocket spending for seniors-many Democrats and consumer advocates want to overhaul the program. Critics contend that the federal government can negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies that are lower than those obtained by private insurers operating prescription drug plans (PDPs), and some reformers charge that the program is too complex and confusing for elderly beneficiaries, pointing particularly to the infamous "donut hole" that is affecting more Medicare patients than anticipated.

A systematic search of the literature published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice demonstrated that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) used as monotherapy or in combination with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are not associated with a beneficial effect on mortality in patients with heart failure (HF).

A nested case-control analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine demonstrated an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among patients with recently diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treated with ipratropium.

Recent FDA action (through October 2008) related to vernakalant, doripenem, custirsen, droxidopa, amrubicin, dronedarone, and imatinib.

Eltrombopag is a TPO receptor agonist that is currently pending FDA approval for the treatment of ITP. This agent has been granted orphan drug and priority review status. In May 2008, the Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously agreed that eltrombopag demonstrates a favorable risk:benefit profile for the short-term treatment of chronic ITP.