News

Two studies published in the journals Lancet (Elliott et al) and the Archives of Internal Medicine (Barzilay et al) help to answer questions about the effect some antihypertensive agents can have on the development of diabetes mellitus, but these studies have also raised some new concerns about cardiovascular disease.

In a large, multi-center, randomized, open-label, prospective trial named the Acute Catheterization and Urgent Intervention Triage Strategy (ACUITY) trial, monotherapy with the anti-thrombotic agent bivalirudin, when administered to patients experiencing an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (eg, unstable angina or myocardial infarction without ST-segment elevation), was demonstrated to be as efficacious as the current standard-of-care therapy but with nearly a 50% lower risk of bleeding. The results of the trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

First-time generic approvals

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Once-daily oral formulation of anti-inflammatory agent approved for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis

Sterile, lyophilized powder concentrate of antihemophilic factor and von Willebrand factor complex for surgical and/or invasive procedures in patients with von Willebrand disease

With the increasing trend toward consumer-directed healthcare, providers can add another specialty to their list: bill collector.

The primary cost to patients with hospital-acquired infections is a prolonged stay and additional therapeutic interventions. But because of the high financial costs, there is increasing outside pressure to decrease infection rates.

Effective maintenance of patient records, registration information, human resources documentation, and reimbursement forms are critical to the IT success of the four-hospital Saint Clare's Health System, in northwestern New Jersey. The hospital system, which houses more than 475 active beds, serves 23,000 inpatients and 250,000 outpatients annually.

Surgical site infections are a significant problem in hospitals today. They occur in 2% to 5% of patients who have clean operations outside the abdomen, and in up to 20% of patients with intra-abdominal procedures. They account for about 15% of hospital-acquired infections.

Some health insurers are hoping that new benefit designs targeting individuals will attract some of the uninsured and the self-employed, who either don't realize that they can get insurance or don't know how much they can afford.

Detroit's Big Three automakers are considering shifting future retiree healthcare costs to union-controlled trust funds and are eyeing a new contract between Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union.

Wal-Mart and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have formed what industry watchers have called an "unusual" partnership to push for quality, affordable healthcare.

Legislation encouraging more equitable coverage of mental illness is moving forward in Congress following important modification of previous requirements. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently approved a bill that requires health plans to offer similar benefits for mental and physical illness in terms of deductibles, copayments and treatment limitations. But the new measure no longer mandates that group health plans cover mental illness.

The Bush administration spending plan for 2008 proposes major funding curbs for Medicare, Medicaid, children's health and other government health programs.

Over the next few years, more health plans and employers will investigate covering the physician-administered injectable drugs under the pharmacy benefit as a way to control the costs and manage appropriate utilization, says Kathryn Lindhorst Canaday, PharmD, director of pharmacy analysis, Pharmaceutical Strategies Group (PSG), based in Dallas.

Consumerism in health benefits has moved beyond buzzword status to a mainstream strategy. Increasingly, health plans and employers view consumerism with a global approach to benefits-a collaboration with employees financially, organizationally and personally.

The primary cost to patients with hospital-acquired infections is a prolonged stay and additional therapeutic interventions. But because of the high financial costs, there is increasing outside pressure to decrease infection rates.

Millions of people's lives have been influenced by the work of Mollie Orshansky, even though very few people know who she is. Dozens of health-related programs throughout history have benefitted from Mollie's contributions, including programs through HHS, charitable agencies, private companies and managed care. In 1963, it was Mollie-an accomplished mathematical genius and daughter of a poor immigrant family-who developed the U.S. government's official measure of poverty and the guidelines for what we call the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) today.

When you're the most populous state in the union, any extraordinary policies you sketch out could likely become a national catalyst for change. California has begun working on its state initiative for comprehensive healthcare reform, not simply for lack of a national proposal, but also because the health of its 36.1 million residents is at stake.

The Illinois Supreme Court recently confirmed that the corporate practice of medicine doctrine is still alive and well in the state of Illinois. In Vine Street Clinic, et al. v. HealthLink Inc., the court concluded that percentage-based fees charged by the owner of a healthcare provider network were illegal under the state's medical practices act.

Rising pressure to reduce federal spending for Medicare has put the spotlight on payments and policies governing the Medicare Advantage program. MA plans are "vastly overpaid," according to Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Ways & Means Health subcommittee, largely because they sign up more healthy beneficiaries. Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is looking closely at whether "funneling dollars into private plans gets us the most bang for our healthcare buck."

In 2007, healthcare providers will face identity and access management challenges that will directly impact compliance, security and audit issues.

Disease management programs aimed at enhancing quality of life for older adults with multiple chronic illnesses are blossoming and are expected to experience future growth.

Oncology therapy has the potential to become the single leading category promoting drug spending growth, however, the class of drugs is rife with challenges for plans and employers.

Many Americans suffer from insomnia regularly, but clinicians often do not address this issue. A variety of factors may contribute to insomnia, including medical conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, Parkinson disease, and heart failure. Medications such as amphetamines, theophylline, and beta agonists could also precipitate insomnia.

Combination therapy with an antimuscarinic agent (tolterodine extended release [ER]) and alpha1-receptor antagonist (tamsulosin) provided symptomatic benefit in men with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms and overactive bladder, according to a large-scale, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Many Americans suffer from insomnia regularly, but clinicians often do not address this issue. A variety of factors may contribute to insomnia, including medical conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, Parkinson disease, and heart failure. Medications such as amphetamines, theophylline, and beta agonists could also precipitate insomnia.