News

Melanoma, an aggressive disease with a rapidly rising incidence rate, presents the oncology field with some of its greatest challenges and opportunities. Long considered one of the most difficult diseases to treat with pharmacotherapy, drug development within melanoma has lagged behind that of many other cancers, culminating in decades of limited progress. Developments in molecular biology, however, have led to an increased understanding of the molecular heterogeneity of melanoma in recent years, which has resulted in new insights into the roles of oncogenes, signaling pathways, immune checkpoints, and tumor-promoting events, accelerating the rate of discovery of therapeutic targets.

Adding tumor treating fields (TTFields) therapy to temozolomide significantly increases progression-free survival (PFS) for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients versus giving temozolomide alone, according to data presented at 2014 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting, in Miami.

An extended-release (ER) opioid analgesic, hydrocodone bitartrate (Hysingla ER, Purdue Pharma) has been approved by FDA for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, 24-hour, long-term opioid treatment. Alternative treatment options must also have been found to be inadequate.

Treating skin cancer is having a major impact on the US healthcare system. The costs associated with skin cancer increased 5 times as fast as treatments for other cancers between 2002 and 2011, according to a Centers for Disease Control study published November 9 online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Physicians debated the benefits versus the risks of aspirin for cardiovascular events in an editorial published in JAMA online November 17.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers got a better idea of the value of FDA’s Priority Review Vouchers (PRVs) recently after Gilead Sciences paid $125 million in cash for Knight Therapeutics’ Neglected Tropical Disease PRV.

Following Walmart’s entry earlier this year into primary care, Target is opening four new primary care clinics in Southern California in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.

An acute care facility replaces unproductive PCs with zero clients and no click access authentication, resulting in improved quality of care

A new Commonwealth Fund study finds that 21% of adults with health insurance spent 5% or more of their income on out-of pocket expenses and that 40% skipped medical treatment because of high deductibles.

Myalept (metreleptin) is a leptin analogue with the same physiologic effects as leptin.11 Metreleptin was granted a priority review and was FDA approved on February 25, 2014, as an adjunct to diet as replacement therapy to treat the complications of leptin deficiency in patients with congenital or acquired lipodystrophy.

FDA announced that it will review results from a clinical trial showing that long-term dual antiplatelet therapy decreased the risk of heart attacks and clot formation in stents, but there was an increased overall risk of death compared to 12 months of treatment.

Investigational drug LCZ696 (Novartis), an angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), is superior to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor alone in reducing the risks of death and of hospitalization for heart failure, according to data presented at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

The collective performance of U.S. hospitals on individual accountability measures is on the rise, according to a new report by The Joint Commission.

The solution to connecting streams of data in differing formats is a workflow system that can normalize data and track it to a plan member.

FDA has approved alemtuzumab (Lemtrada, Genzyme, A Sanofi Company) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The new combination hepatitis C drug ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (Harvoni, Gilead Sciences) has been found to be highly effective in treating patients with cirrhosis who have not benefited from previous therapies.

Many people who report an allergy to penicillin actually are not allergic to penicillin, according to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, in Atlanta.

Approximately half of all adults in the U.S. have one or more chronic health conditions, and 75% of health care costs are due to chronic illnesses. When psychosocial issues like depression, low income, or lack of social support are present, the impact on costs is even greater.

Opposition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may explain why two pairs of states had very different performance outcomes in the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM) during the first open enrollment period.

The shortage of saline solution among hospitals is ongoing and doesn’t appear to be resolving anytime soon, according to a quality executive with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). In addition, safety concerns make it prohibitive for hospitals to compound their own solutions.

Healthcare executives are optimistic about telemedicine and actively pursuing telemedicine advancements despite reimbursement and regulatory challenges, according to a new survey of senior healthcare executives released today by Foley & Lardner LLP.

Annual screenings for long-term smokers aged 55 to 74 will now be covered by Medicare, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Nov. 10.

FDA has approved a first-of-its-kind, personalized blood test to predict the likelihood of organ rejection in children with liver or intestine transplants (Pleximmune). The test was developed by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC to determine a personalized rejection-risk index with cell-based technology.

In the accountable care model, providers are rewarded for taking steps that produce the best results. Accountable care requires putting the primary care physician at the center, where he or she can focus on the patient’s overall health by coordinating care with other providers.

Considering the challenges they faced during the first open enrollment period, Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OPs) overall are doing very well, having signed up some 450,000 members across the nation, or 18% of all ACA exchange plan enrollees to date.

News briefs of interest to MHE readers.

In the shift away from fee-for-service to coordinated care models, healthcare organizations are reaping benefits by bundling payments for particular episodes of care. While still in the early stages, bundled payments promise to save costs and improve quality, and have already improved communication and collaboration among major players along the continuum of care

Employer-sponsored healthcare benefits are not insulated from the changes taking place in the broader healthcare marketplace. However employers, particularly large employers, are attempting to drive the conversation and actions toward issues that are important to them. One of the best ways to do that is to pressure health plans to help them achieve their healthcare goals