News

ACA base standard "relatively tight"

Patient care as well as the financial health of oncologists should be strengthened

WellPoint opted to change its corporate name to Anthem, Inc. in mid-August. Here’s why.

Experts anticipate plans with up to seven levels

FDA actions in brief, fast-track designations, priority review, orphan drug designations

Plans tackle cancer treatment

Transform care through innovative payment strategies

Dalvance (dalbavancin) is the first and only intravenous antibiotic was approved on May 2014 to treat ABSSSIs with a 2-dose regimen of 1,000 mg once week and later on a 500 mg that is given over a 30-minute time span

FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) for treatment of patients with advanced or unresetable melanoma who are no longer responding to other drugs.

Medical marijuana laws are associated with significantly lower state-level opioid pain reliever mortality rates, according to a study published online August 25 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

About one-third of people with depression derive benefit from adding cognitive therapy to treatment with antidepressant medication, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Addresses increased demand for affordable, outpatient care

Employees of religious non-profits can receive separate coverage for contraceptive services

PerformRx, a member of the AmeriHealth Caritas family of companies, is a pharmacy benefits manager covering more than 3.5 million lives. In partnership with two affiliated Pennsylvania-based Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) ? a large Philadelphia-based Medical Assistance managed care health plan and AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania-PerformRx implemented a collaborative drug therapy management (DTM) program for patients with diabetes treated with polypharmacy.

Obesity is a public health and budget problem that cannot be ignored

FDA has approved a new indication for the once-daily use of eltrombopag (Promacta, GlaxoSmithKline) in patients with severe aplastic anaemia (SAA) who have had an insufficient response to immunosuppressive therapy (IST).

Stroke patients are 70% more likely to continue taking their stroke prevention medications 1 year later if they are given a prescription when discharged, and 40% more likely after 2 years, according a study published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.

Teens who received the collaborative care intervention in primary care had significantly greater improvements in depressive symptoms than teens who were receiving treatment as usual.

FDA has approved abacavir 600 mg, dolutegravir 50 mg (Tivicay) and lamivudine 300 mg (Triumeq, ViiV Healthcare) as as a first-line therapy to treat HIV.

Zorvolex was the first FDA-approved low dose NSAID developed using proprietary SoluMatrix Fine Particle Technology. Zorvolex contains diclofenac as submicron particles that are approximately 20 times smaller than their original size. The reduction in particle size provides an increased surface area, leading to faster dissolution. By using this technology, the dose can be lowered without delaying absorbtion.

Almost half of disabled workers enrolled in Medicare’s prescription drug program fill a prescription for opioids each year, and more than 1 in 5 were chronic users, filling 6 or more opioid prescriptions each year, according to a study in the September issue of Medical Care.

Precedex, dexmedetomidine hydrochloride, is approved to sedate patients with breathing tubes in an intensive-care setting, as well as patients without breathing tubes before and during surgeries and other procedures. Hospira’s patent that covers the use of Precedex in an intensive-care setting in due to expire in 2019, however other patents have already expired. On Monday, the FDA approved the sale of generic copies of the drug as long as the companies leave out information from the prescribing labels about uses that are covered under Hospira’s patent, including “intensive-care unit sedation.”

FDA has approved apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer) for the treatment of DVT and PE, and for the reduction in the risk of recurrent DVT and PE following initial therapy. Combined, DVT and PE are known as VTE.

FDA has approved fluticasone furoate inhalation powder (Arnuity Ellipta, GlaxoSmithKline) for maintenance treatment of asthma in patients aged 12 years and older.

FDA has approved peginterferon beta-1a (Plegridy, Biogen Idec) for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

FDA has approved eliglustat (Cerdelga, Genzyme), the only first-line oral therapy for the long-term treatment of adults with the Type 1 form of Gaucher disease.