News

FDA approved a new use for ruxolitinib (Jakafi, Incyte) to treat patients with polycythemia vera (PV), a chronic type of bone marrow disease. Jakafi is the first drug approved by FDA for this condition.

Narrow networks have sparked concern that they will unduly limit patient care and lead to increased patient use of out-of-network providers with higher out-of-pocket costs.

Recently, accountable care organization's aims have broadened to include overseeing patients with cancer, end-stage renal disease and certain other diseases and chronic conditions.

Now that the ACA has eliminated pre-existing conditions, payers have taken on many unknowns when evaluating the massive population of new members coming in from the state and federal exchanges.

Providers, owners and suppliers who owe Medicare money, have been convicted of felonies or have a history of billing abuse will be excluded from enrollment under new rules adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Drug shortages and manufacturer consolidation are leaving their imprint on the price of some generic drugs.

Researchers generally agree that intense, highly-coordinated care, with an emphasis on changing patient behavior is a key to improving outcomes and reducing costs for complex morbidities.

Nilotinib (Tasigna) should be considered as a leading option for front-line therapy in the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML), according to data presented at the 56th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco.

Actavis Plc has announced that the Infective Drugs Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the FDA concerning the safety and effectiveness of drug products for use in the treatment of infectious diseases, has voted to recommend approval of its New Drug Application for ceftazidime-avibactam.

In patients with opioid dependence, buprenorphine and naloxone (Zubsolv, Orexo) sublingual tablet (CIII) demonstrated comparable patient retention in treatment at days 3 and 15 versus generic buprenorphine and Suboxone film respectively, according to data presented at the 25th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) in Aventura, Fla.

Of all the information technology available to hospitals and practices, the patient portal can be especially challenging.

The industry turns to telehealth to lower costs and improve quality.

In at least 37 states, the three largest insures account for 80% of total health plan enrollment, according to a new study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The industry is challenged by a number of issues in 2015 including cost control, technology threats, and the emerging consumer market.

FDA has approved blinatumomab (Blincyto, Amgen) immunotherapy for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

This year, the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions were held in Chicago, Illinois, from November 15 to 19. Of all of the late-breaking clinical trials presented at AHA 2014, the IMPROVE-IT (IMProved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial) study of Merck’s low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)-reducing drugs-the statin, Zocor (simvastatin), and the fixed-dose combination, Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin)-stole the show.

Investigational, oral proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib (MLN9708, Takeda) has FDA has granted breakthrough therapy status for the treatment of relapsed or refractory systemic light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. This is the first proteasome inhibitor and first investigational therapy for AL amyloidosis to receive breakthrough therapy designation.

Just 13 health information exchanges (HIEs) out of an available 100 have been evaluated by examining usage information, making it hard to draw conclusions about their impact.

An estimated 50,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and approximately $12 billion was saved between 2010 and 2013 because of reduced hospital-acquired conditions,according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Total national health spending slowed from 4.1% in 2012 to 3.6% in 2013, the slowest rate of growth since it was first tracked in 1960, according to a report from the Office of the Actuary (OACT) at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

ACOs in Medicare’s Shared Savings Program (SSP) will have three more years before they are liable for losses if rules proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 1 are adopted.

While pharmaceutical manufacturer AbbVie’s new hepatitis C drug has not yet been approved by FDA, pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts has expressed interest in switching to the drug in its preferred drug formulary.

The costs of developing new prescription drugs have soared 145% since 2003, according to a new study from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

The first experimental Ebola vaccine has been shown to be safe and prompt an immune response in results from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine produced immune system responses and was well tolerated in the whole study cohort of 20 healthy adults.

Following a priority review designation, FDA has approved rifapentine (Priftin, Sanofi) in combination with isoniazid (INH) for a new indication for the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in patients aged 2 years and older at high risk of progression to tuberculosis (TB) disease.

Thomas Malone, MD will become chief executive officer at Summa Health, and Karen Rohan will become president of Aetna, as of January 1, 2015.