Best Read Healthcare Trend Stories in 2022

ICER: Drugs with Unsupported Price Increases Added $805 Million in Costs

In 2021, seven out of 10 high-cost drugs had price increases that were not supported by clinical evidence, according to a new report, Unsupported Price Increase Report, by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). These increases accounted for $805 million in additional costs over one year.

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Authorities Seize Fake Drugs with Lethal Doses of Meth and Fentanyl

The Drug Enforcement Administration said there is a sharp nationwide increase in the lethality of fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills even as authorities crack down on counterfeit drug rings. Popular counterfeit medications include Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts) and oxycodone.

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Anti-Tau Alzheimer’s Treatment Slows Cognitive Decline

Long before the approval of Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab), long before people began to question whether clearing the brain of amyloid plaques slowed cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease, a small company in Aberdeen, Scotland, was quietly tackling a different research path.

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Survey: Oncology Doctors Say Prior Authorization Hurts Patients

Prior authorization is harming people with cancer, said doctors who responded to a recent survey from the Association for Clinical Oncology. Oncologists indicated that prior authorization delays necessary care, worsens cancer care outcomes, and diverts clinicians from caring for their patients.

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PSG Survey: Payer Satisfaction with PBMs Declines

Overall satisfaction with PBMs among both health plans and employers has declined, while at the same time, some specific measures of satisfaction stayed steady, according to Pharmaceutical Strategies Group’s annual Pharmacy Benefit Manager Customer Satisfaction Report.

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