Individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) more recently experienced decreased disability and psychological problems than those treated 20 years ago. While treatment strategies have helped, researchers attribute the positive effects to greater physical activity and encouragement of a worthwhile life by healthcare professionals.
The data is not necessarily perfect
Chronically ill patients in last years of life account for 32% of total Medicare spending.
Best practices from the retail sector that can help plans revitalize their consumer relationships.
Children hospitalized for pneumonia have similar outcomes, including length of stay and costs, regardless of whether they are treated with “big gun” antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or more narrowly focused antibiotics such as ampicillin or penicillin, according to a Vanderbilt study published in Pediatrics.
More attention needs to be paid to patients who are at the verge of risk.
CVS Caremark and Cardinal Health are about to become the single biggest supplier of generic drugs in the United States.
Diabetes was associated with an increased risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer, and this association was highest for Latinos, followed by Hawaiians, African-Americans, and Japanese-Americans, according to results presented here at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held Dec. 6-9, in Atlanta.
Patients had better experiences and fewer problems in health information, care coordination, and psychological and social care.
Even those that don't pay in full could be covered on January 1
Diabetes patients under 65 had significantly fewer emergency room visits when using mail order pharmacy.
Plans see partially accurate 834s
Slow down due to changes in the behavior of beneficiaries and providers.
Better Care Team Collaboration and Productivity with Secure Mobile Messaging, sponsored by DrFirst
New mandate ensures that plans cover mental health and addiction services in the same way they treat other medical issues.
On December 6, FDA approved Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) tablets for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection as a component of a combination antiviral treatment regimen.
A specific type of diabetes drug can decrease the risk of cancer in female patients with type 2 diabetes up to 32%, according to a study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. People with type 2 diabetes have a higher rate of cancer development and recurrence compared to the general population.
Drugs are free of interferon and aim to shorten treatment time
A new study is helping to provide a better understanding of vaccines for whooping cough, the common name for the disease pertussis. Based on an animal model, the study conducted by FDA and published November 25, 2013, in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that acellular pertussis vaccines licensed by FDA are effective in preventing the disease among those vaccinated, but suggests that they may not prevent infection from the bacteria that causes whooping cough in those vaccinated or its spread to other people, including those who may not be vaccinated.
In cancer patients with concurrent type 2 diabetes, metformin alone or in combination with other regimens was associated with 34% reduction in overall death risk and 38% reduction in cancer-specific death risk, according to a study in the December issue of The Oncologist.
Taking effervescent, dispersible, and soluble medications that contain sodium long term increase the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the help of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation has developed a tool kit for instituting collaborative practice agreements between healthcare providers and pharmacists, which is intended to improve healthcare quality.
Among primary care patients with uncontrolled hypertension, medication nonadherence was more than twice as common in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (68%) as compared to patients without PTSD (26%), according to a study reported online in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Information exchange is essential for ACOs to coordinate care
Patients with diabetes who received prescribed heart medications by mail were less likely to visit the emergency room than those who picked up prescriptions in person, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
Many patients who stopped taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs were also taking an average of 3 other drugs that interfered with the normal metabolism of statins, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Lipidology.
Pregnant women exposed to environmental phthalates are at an elevated risk of preterm delivery, according to a recent study in JAMA Pediatrics.
When Group Health patients received support from a nurse navigator, or advocate, soon after a cancer diagnosis, they had better experiences and fewer problems with their care-particularly in health information, care coordination, and psychological and social care-according to a randomized controlled trial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Data for tiotropium show improved lung function, sustained bronchodilation in patients with moderate asthma severity.
Implementation of the new rule will likely reduce plans’ costs.
