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Among members of the new administration, congressional leaders, payors, and providers, many are eager to transform the nation's healthcare system to curb unnecessary spending and make coverage more fair and efficient. A chief problem is that the US healthcare bill keeps increasing faster than the rest of the economy, with little to show in the way of quality improvement.

Dronedarone, an investigational antiarrhythmic agent being studied for the management of AF and atrial flutter, has a pharmacologic mechanism of action that is similar to that of amiodarone, but dronedarone lacks an iodine moiety, which may result in less thyroid and pulmonary toxicity. Dronedarone is currently pending FDA approval; the agent was granted priority review in August 2008.

The challenge of controlling HIV in patients with resistance to antiretrovirals has contributed to accelerated research into treatments with novel antiretroviral activity.

New molecular entity: Plerixafor (Mozobil), a hematopoietic stem cell mobilizer, was approved on December 15, 2008, for mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells for autologous transplantation in patients with NHL and MM

New molecular entity: Degarelix, a GnRH receptor antagonist, was approved on December 24, 2008, for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer

New molecular entity: Milnacipran (Savella), a selective norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitor, was approved on January 14, 2009, for the management of fibromyalgia

Lobbying efforts by the pharmaceutical industry and timing concerns have prevented CMS from requiring that all Part D plans move to pass-through pricing

Measurement tools used by state regulatory bodies evaluate MCO capitalization and investment

Pick your poison. Even with the grand number of proposals on the table, healthcare will still cost the nation trillions.

While numbers show less growth, the $2.2 trillion spent on healthcare is still exceptionally high

Big name insurers are getting smacked with fees and penalties for dropping the ball

Drill into your own data to see whether and to what degree these national inpatient trends are occuring in your own area.

Commonwealth Fund State Performance Ranking: 26

ASCs are gaining in popularity due to their convenience, but acute-care hospitals are losing patients and profits.

Hypertension is the leading medical condition, and health plans are finding better ways to increase DM program participation rates, such as Aetna's program tailored to the African American population

Although there are barriers to childhood and adult vaccines, benefits likely outweigh the risks, so health plans must be in the driver's seat as far as education and delivery of care.

Health plans as employers themselves need just as much of a commitment to wellness as their clients

The first step towards creating an effective market access function is to develop a clear understanding of the needs and perspectives of the various stakeholders in each individual market

MDwise is delivering a new subsidized plan with a consumer-directed look to low-income adults in Indiana

Two pricing bases could be identified as potential future replacements for AWP, namely average sales price (ASP) and average manufacturer price (AMP)

For the last few years, FDA has struggled with a depleted workforce, obsolete information technology (IT), and, according to its advisory Science Board, a weak science base. A new administration and new FDA leadership may provide an opportunity for change.

In newly released guidance for industry regarding good reprint practices for the distribution of journal articles and reference publications on off-label uses of approved drugs, FDA states that distribution of such materials is acceptable if the publications meet certain criteria for objectivity.

After completing a review of the final clinical study report from the Effect of Combination Ezetimibe and High-Dose Simvastatin vs. Simvastatin Alone on the Atherosclerotic Process in Patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia (ENHANCE) trial, FDA stated that treatment with ezetimibe/simvastatin (Vytorin, Merck/Schering-Plough) did not result in significant changes in carotid artery thickness compared with simvastatin (Zocor, Merck), but the combination of ezetimibe and simvastatin did lead to significantly greater decreases in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol compared with simvastatin alone.

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrated an association between antidepressants and improvements in pain, depression, fatigue, sleep, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Not so long ago, medically underserved rural communities had only limited options, if any, when need arose for healthcare services and pharmaceutical support. That situation is finally changing, as necessity and technology converge in emerging applications of telepharmacy, the delivery of pharmaceutical care by means of telecommunications and information technologies to patients at a distance from large, usually urban tertiary healthcare centers.

Several blockbuster drugs will fight to hold onto their top spots in 2009 as new products come before FDA for marketing approval, reported Brian W. Kolling, PharmD, at a recent meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) in Kansas City, Mo. Key therapies to watch as they move through the pipeline include medications for cardiovascular (CV) disorders, central nervous system (CNS) disorders, respiratory disease, and diabetes.

Pharmacogenomics offer value measures to MCOs as specialty drug costs skyrocket.

As cancer emerges as world's top killer by 2010, MCOs will need to offer targeted education and outreach programs.