News

Future therapies for chronic hepatitis C that have greater tolerability, simplified dosing schedules, shorter treatment duration, and more favorable safety profiles are needed to improve adherence and enhance treatment effectiveness, according to an abstract published in Value in Health. Treatments with fewer contraindications are also needed to expand available treatments to more patients in need of effective therapy.

African Americans taking the diabetes drug metformin saw greater improvements in their blood sugar control than white patients who were prescribed the same medication, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Sepsis or “severe infection” has returned as a major cause of death in inpatients, and disability among survivors, according to a new issue brief from the Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation (CHRT).

FDA has approved Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein (Eloctate, Biogen Idec) for the control and prevention of bleeding episodes, perioperative (surgical) management and routine prophylaxis in adults and children with hemophilia A.

Lowest rate achieved since 2008

Pain management is gradually becoming a topic of conversation and gaining considerable attention as it relates to providing quality services for those with acute or chronic pain ailments. Pain can affect millions of Americans and it contributes significantly to national rates of morbidity, mortality, and disability.

Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) outperformed ofatumumab as a second-line therapy, for the treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to a multicenter interim study published in the OnLine First edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

In a move that is intended to foster access to cholesterol-lowering therapy for patients who will best benefit, Cigna has entered into a first-of-its-kind contract with AstraZeneca to help ensure that patients are given an appropriate cholesterol-lowering medication based on their treatment needs.

The acquisition of biopharmaceutical company Idenix Pharmaceuticals by Merck exemplifies the strong market opportunity in the hepatitis C market, according to industry watchers.

Specialists can expand the range of services ACOs provide, but they must be integrated carefully

The initiative would expand Medicare’s present Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program

Identity proofing is often a roadblock

Plans will see a return on investment by effectively engaging members with gamification strategies

4 strategies to follow for successful performance in diagnostic imaging

Cost-sharing is not being lowered for other treatments and services, particularly specialty drugs

One in five Americans now receive their health insurance through Medicaid

The least expensive plans offered by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Assurant were over 40% more expensive on average than the least expensive plans on the exchanges

Ramucirumab (Cyramza) combined with docetaxel (Taxotere) extended overall survival 1.4 months in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when compared to standard second-line therapy (Taxotere alone), according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

Funding will help expand service hours, hire more medical providers and add oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision services

A bortezomib (Velcade)-based regimen significantly improved progression free survival (PFS) and consistently improved secondary efficacy end points in previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients compared to standard therapy, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

Ceritinib (Zykadia) previously known as LDK378,shrank tumors in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including those who had received previous treatment with an ALK inhibitor as well as patients receiving one for the first time, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. Results were also observed in patients with ALK+ NSCLC who entered the study with brain metastases.

In older adults hospitalized with pneumonia, treatment that included azithromycin compared with other antibiotics was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and a slightly increased risk of heart attack, according to a study in the June 4 issue of JAMA.

A delay in filling the first prescription for clopidogrel after coronary stenting is associated with an increased risk of death and myocardial infarction (MI), according to a study published online May 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Industry experts question whether the high cost of treatment is beneficial to patients and health plans

Patients across the country continue to feel the impact of critical prescription drug shortages. As formulary managers understand, an integrated approach to solving shortages, involving all supply chain stakeholders, can have a profound effect on mitigating the impact of shortages on patients.

Heroin use has become pervasive in all sectors, inner cities, suburbs and rural areas. It is no longer an isolated problem, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

When vaccines eradicate illnesses (eg, smallpox), life is grand. However, when eradication is impossible (eg, pneumococcus), what is the goal of vaccination? The most essential vaccine function is to reduce the number and/or severity of infections.

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is an infectious viral disease with about 30% mortality caused by viral pneumonia and associated lung damage. The etiologic agent of MERS, MERS-CoV, is a member of the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses are responsible for a variety of pathologic effects in a broad spectrum of vertebrates including the virus currently responsible for epidemic piglet deaths in hog farms in the United States. The pathogenicity of MERS is due, in part, to the innate immune deficiency state that results from inhibition of a first responder to viral infection, interferon (IFN).