News

A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that 8 preventive health services for women will be added to the services that health plans will cover at no cost to patients under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA).

Improving glycemic control may help prevent heart failure, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. The study enrolled at 20,985 patients with type 1 diabetes to assess variables associated with cardiovascular disease, including age, sex, duration of diabetes, HbA1c, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and smoking status.

FDA has approved a subcutaneous (SC)formulation of abatacept (Orencia, Bristol-Myers Squibb) for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is the first biologic available in both SC and intravenous formulations for the treatment of RA.

FDA has issued a 90-day extension of the action date for Pfizer?s Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine [Diphtheria CRM197 Protein]) in adults 50 years of age and older.

FDA has received reports of serious central nervous system reactions when methylene blue is given to patients taking serotonergic psychiatric medications.

On August 9, Independence Blue Cross and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan announced their alignment

Reform calls for establishment of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan, which permits new nonprofit insurers to offer plans in individual and small group markets

A new wave of exchange guidance is about to hit from the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight

To achieve a higher rate of clean claims, health plans have to be absolutely clear on what a "clean claim" means to all parties in the transaction.

Although Judy Cahill will end her term as CEO of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy next year, there's plenty to keep her busy between now and then.

A report shows that two out of five adult Americans have difficulty understanding the basic health information and services needed to make decisions.

As the struggle to halt healthcare costs continues, Maryland has uniquely managed to contain hospital reimbursement.

When it comes to big health plan payers, hospitals aren't feeling the love. That's the feedback from Revive Public Relations' fifth annual national payer survey.

Up to 30% of employers might drop employee coverage after 2014.

Mississippi consistently ranks low in health measures.

A main theme of new rules for state-based health insurance exchanges is flexibility for states.

Private healthcare premiums increased by nearly 15% from $697 billion to $801 billion between 2005 and 2009, reports the National Institute for Health Care Management.

There's a bill working its way through California that would require health plans to standardize their prior authorization paperwork.

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed legislation that will transition the state's Medicaid fee-for-service to care coordination

About 1 in 10 computer-generated prescriptions includes at least 1 error, and one-third of those has potential for harm, which is consistent with the error rate for paper-written prescriptions, according to a new study published online June 29 in the Journal of the American Medical Infomatics Association.

A smoking cessation program in which participants received mobile phone motivational text messages significantly improved smoking cessation rates at 6 months and the method should be considered for inclusion in smoking cessation services, according to a study published June 29 in The Lancet.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released revised recommendations for postpartum contraceptive use based on an assessment of new evidence, according to an article published in the July 8 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Patients treated with belatacept (Nulojix) are at an increased risk for developing 2 potentially fatal complications: post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), predominantly involving the central nervous system (CNS) and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), according to a recent Safety Alert. The risk of PTLD is higher for transplant patients who have never been exposed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and therefore is indicated for use only in transplant patients who are EBV seropositive.

FDA has approved ticagrelor (Brilinta, AstraZeneca) tablets to reduce the rate of heart attack and cardiovascular death in adult patients with acute coronary syndrome.

The concentration of the influenza drug oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu, Genentech) for oral suspension has been reduced from 12 mg/mL to 6 mg/mL to reduce the possibility of prescribing and dosing confusion that can lead to medication errors, according to FDA.

Nesiritide cannot be recommended in the broad population of patients with acute decompensated heart failure, according to the results of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is concerned about the increasing potential in gonorrhea patients for resistance to cephalosporin.

Medications with anticholinergic activity increase the cumulative risk of cognitive impairment and death, according to findings from a study published online June 24 in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.

Novartis announced that it has stopped early its phase 3 trial of everolimus (Afinitor) plus exemestane in women with estrogen receptor-positive locally-advanced or metastatic breast cancer after an interim analysis showed that the primary end point of progression-free survival was met, the company said.

A recent study raises safety concerns associated with the use of varenicline among tobacco users. Use of the drug was associated with a 72% increased risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events and deserves further investigation, according to results of the study, which was published July 4 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.