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Health plans should consider turning to their members to ask for quality feedback.

Pushback from members has caused regulators to take notice.

Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center are one of 18 clinical research centers taking part in a national study to establish guidelines for safely stepping down treatment in patients whose asthma is well controlled.

This season's flu vaccine has reduced the risk of influenza-associated medical visits by 61% across all age groups, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thus far it appears to be outperforming its predecessor from 2012-2013, which had an effectiveness rate of 51%.

Six protected drug classes could be whittled down to three by 2016

Security pros say the federal site is wide open to breaches, malware and theft of personal information

Forest Laboratories plans to discontinue the sale of memantine HCl (Namenda) 5-mg and 10-mg tablets effective August 15, 2014. Forest has notified FDA of this decision.

A coalition of doctors, addiction experts, and law enforcement officials are urging FDA to revoke approval of the powerful opioid Zohydro ER (hydrocodone bitartrate) extended-release capsules, which reportedly will contain 10 times more hydrocodone than Vicodin

Blood pressure medications used by many older adults can increase the risk of serious fall injuries by 30% to 40%-injuries that have a similar effect on mortality and functional loss as the strokes and heart attacks the antihypertensive drugs are meant to prevent-according to a study in the Feb. 24 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

With the proper incentives, collaboration among providers will accelerate.

In an attempt to determine which patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at high risk for serious adverse events upon presentation to the emergency department, Canadian researchers identified 10 clinical characteristics and developed a preliminary risk scale to help standardize the admission practices of these patients.

The tide has turned against the use of azithromycin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic for common infections since the early 1990s, because of the risk of antimicrobial resistance.

Patients with severe injuries initially evaluated at non-trauma center emergency departments are less likely to be transferred to a trauma center if they have insurance, according to study published online ahead of print in JAMA Surgery.

Bertolini calls for transformative change focused on wellness, aligned incentives

EHRs must support clinical optimization and care management to move to the next level

More than 30% of Medicare Part D beneficiaries who receive opioid prescriptions are prescribed them from multiple providers, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. This practice, which goes against recommended guidelines of a single provider prescribing opioids for a patient, was found to be associated with higher rates of opioid-related hospitalization.

Only four stars or more get 5% bump

From Mark Farrah Associates

Breakthrough Therapy Designation given to daclatasvir and asunaprevir

Medicare is considering discontinuing coverage of circulating tumor cell (CTC) assays for beneficiaries across West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Highmark will become the Blue affiliate for BCNEPA’s 13-county service area.

Seen as a 'war on seniors'

Hep C drugs offer significant advantages, but payers must define payment approaches for optimal utilization.

FDA plans to work closely with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to ensure the safety of medicines, according to a Feb. 19 announcement.

FDA approved droxidopa (Northera, Chelsea Therapeutics) capsules for the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (NOH).

Actavis plans to purchase Forest Laboratories for approximately $25 billion in a cash and equity deal, creating a combination of “two of the world’s fastest growing specialty pharmaceutical companies, with combined annual revenues of more than $15 billion in 2015,” according to a Feb. 18 announcement.

Pharmacy as a profession dropped a few notches to fifth place in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings for all jobs and placed third on the list of best healthcare jobs, behind nurse practitioner and dentist. It had placed third as the best profession overall last year.

And the bottom five, too