News

Quality, financial performance provides glimpse at long-term effects

Several new drugs hold promise, but cost is a top concern.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health, unveiled the first CMS plan to address health equity in Medicare.There are six key priorities of the CMS Equity Plan for Medicare.

The first biosimilar product was approved this spring. Pharmacists will want to familiarize themselves with this new class of therapies. Below are the five top things that a pharmacist should know about biosimilars.

CMS recently released a proposed draft of its Medicare Reporting Requirements document for 2016 and, for the first time, the guidance includes reporting requirements for Medicare rewards and incentive programs. The new reporting requirement is slated to begin January 1. Are you ready?

Barriers persist though adoption continues to grow

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) organizations and healthcare providers are lauding the update of the Official ATS/ERS/JRS/ALAT Clinical Practice Guideline: Treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which was last updated in 2011.

Coming to a decision to outsource business processes is one thing. Deciding which services to outsource is another.

More plans look to outsourcing to increase productivity, lower costs

Managed care executives involved with Medicare Advantage products should consider the impact of product design and cost sharing on elderly consumers, according to the findings of a recent poll.

FDA granted accelerated approval for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) to treat patients with advanced (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after other treatments and with tumors that express a protein called PD-L1.

Biopharmaceutical manufacturers’ at-risk day is coming. Here’s how to prepare.

Telemedicine is gaining broader acceptance, yet legal restrictions and reimbursement barriers continue to slow its momentum.

The reasons for recent jumps in generic drug prices are varied, but some common themes have emerged in a new study by National Center for Policy Analysis Senior Fellow Devon Herrick.

While expansion means better health, it is creating logistical and operational concerns that health plans must rapidly address.

Purchasers, manufacturers explore new pricing models

Further research may determine whether changing sedentary behavior will reduce long-term outcomes.

A novel influenza drug will advance in development, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).

Pharmaceutical companies are charging up to 600 times what certain cancer drugs cost to make, and Americans are paying more than double the price charged in Europe for the tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

The FDA’s accelerated drug reviews skip some important research methods – they typically do not use trials with active comparators or clinical outcome measures, according to two new studies.

As hospitals prepare for the mandated management of episodes of care, they will threaten the value proposition of most managed care plans.

Health policy experts generally agree that properly tailored transparency tools can help to hold down prices. What is not settled at this point is what transparency should look like.

FDA approved Tresiba (insulin degludec injection, Novo Nordisk) and Ryzodeg 70/30 (insulin degludec/insulin aspart injection, Novo Nordisk) for the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

FDA has approved cariprazine (Vraylar, Allergan and Gedeon Richter Plc.) for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults.

Five initiatives, five success stories

Most managed care executives believe they will recoup their investments in population health management (PHM) within four years, but many don’t have a clear vision of the pathway to success

Those who are in decision-making roles must study how other countries address healthcare financing and delivery so as to bring the best initiatives of the studied country to the healthcare systems they oversee.

AstraZeneca recently released positive new data on its experimental non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug, AZD9291 (osimertinib)

Most payers and employers now offer high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), but questions remain regarding whether these options will actually help plans save on healthcare costs.

Questions remain regarding how those plans will impact hospital revenue.