The risk of moderate or severe exacerbations in patients with severe but stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who receive tiotropium plus salmeterol has been found to be similar among subjects discontinuing inhaled glucocorticoids and subjects continuing their use. Nevertheless, in making decisions about maintenance therapy for these patients the effect of withdrawal of glucocorticoids on their symptoms and pulmonary function should be carefully considered.
While Republicans picked up seven seats in the U.S. Senate on Nov. 4 to assume a majority, recent good news surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will likely safeguard major aspects of it from GOP repeal.
Providing first-call resolution through a healthcare plan's call center is critical to customer satisfaction.
Specialty drug spending per user has increased considerably in recent years, but still represents a small portion of overall drug spending per beneficiary, according to a study published recently in Health Affairs.
Otezla (apremilast), a small-molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4), was approved by FDA on March 21, 2014, for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis. On September 23, 2014, it was approved for a second indication, the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy
FDA has approved Flublok (Protein Sciences) recombinant influenza vaccine for all adults aged 18 years and older. Previously, Flublok was indicated for adults aged 18 to 49 years.
Texas-based Memorial Hermann Health System and the Memorial Hermann Physician Network launched a co-branded health plan in a quest to operate more efficiently and grow market share.
FDA drug approvals, fast-track designations
At a time when insurers are expanding their presence on state exchanges and rolling out tech-savvy portals to capture new customers, single state “Blue” insurers are finding themselves hamstrung by regulations and lack of capital.
After beating third quarter Wall Street estimates and with their stock prices at all time highs, the nation’s leading insurers are expanding their presence on state exchanges (also known as marketplaces) in response to a contracting employer-driven market.
Healthcare spending has climbed from roughly 5% of U.S. GDP to nearly 18% as of 2012, an unsustainable rate of growth that jeopardizes America’s fiscal solvency and long-term ability to support programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
FDA has approved once-daily dapagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride extended-release (Xigduo, AstraZeneca) (XR) for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes. Xigduo XR is indicated as an adjunct therapy to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus when treatment with both dapagliflozin and metformin is appropriate.
In children discharged home with a fracture, both ibuprofen and oral morphine were effective at relieving pain. However, there were no significant differences in efficacy between the 2 agents and oral morphine was associated with more side effects, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
FDA advisors have recommended approval of a 60-mg dose of edoxaban (Daiichi Sankyo), a once-daily anticoagulant that inhibits Factor Xa, for some atrial fibrillation patients, but suggested limiting its use to those with abnormal kidney function.
Meningococcal group B vaccine (Trumenba, Pfizer) has been granted accelerated approval by FDA as the first vaccine licensed in the United States for active immunization to prevent invasive meningococcal B disease from Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B.
Americans in 2013 spent a little more on medical services from the prior year, but utilized them less, according to a new report by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).
A new Kaiser health tracking poll shows 90% of uninsured Americans are not aware of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) next open enrollment period.
Public-private partnerships are proving to be an effective structure for funding and governing patient registries.
The three giants driving America’s $3 trillion healthcare economy–health insurers, hospital systems, and pharmaceutical companies–all face the same dilemma: how to effectively engage customers to earn trust and improve the consumer healthcare experience.
FDA has approved sotalol hydrochloride oral solution (Sotylize, Arbor Pharamceuticals) for the treatment of documented life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and the maintenance of normal sinus rhythm in patients with a history of highly symptomatic atrial fibrillation/flutter.
Hospital pharmacies play an essential role in the nation’s healthcare system, and these days, are expected to add value to every aspect of a hospital's strategic agenda.
Following the lead of the CMS, healthcare is waking up to the use of rewards to motivate consumers to get healthy.
With more than 40,000 health and wellness apps on the market today, consumers of all ages are responding to health care they can access on-the-go.
America’s health care system is going through transformational changes. Price transparency – providing consumers cost information before services are received – is a significant force in today’s system.
When Congress voted in March to push back the ICD-10 deadline to at least Oct. 1, 2015, emotions were mixed from payers and providers across the industry.
The Ebola outbreak has taught us that the health systems in West Africa are under-resourced and vulnerable. Scaling up capability of local healthcare provision is an important consideration for control of this virus, and drug makers are gearing up to expedite development of Ebola vaccines.
FDA has approved Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Porcine Sequence] (Obizur, Baxter) for the treatment of bleeding episodes in adults with acquired hemophilia A.
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents just under 15% of all breast cancer (BC) cases, according to IMS’ epidemiologic analysis. It carries a bleaker prognosis than other forms of BC. These facts are well-known. Much else about the disease is unknown, however; indeed, it’s probably a mistake to think of TNBC cancer as “a” disease at all.
FDA has approved an updated labeling of morphine sulfate/naltrexone hydrochloride (Embeda, Pfizer) extended release capsules, CII, to include abuse-deterrent properties
An FDA advisory committee has voted to keep the boxed warning for varenicline (Chantix, Pfizer) that states that the drug may cause serious neuropsychiatric events.