Dennis P. Scanlon, PhD

The editor in chief introduces and summarizes commentaries from our editorial board containing practical solutions that could be feasibly implemented to improve American health care.

The policy community should consider these concrete suggestions to address the challenges presented by social determinants of health.

A letter from the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®.

Experts in SMA provide closing thoughts on unmet needs in SMA including the importance of research into treatment combinations and sequencing as well as multidisciplinary care and healthcare equity.

Emma Ciafaloni, MD and Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP consider the importance of shared decision making for patients and families when selecting an available DMT in SMA.

Kevin U. Stephens, Sr., MD, JD and Maria Lopes, MD, MS provide insight into the factors that payors must consider when creating and implementing policies on treatment coverage in SMA.

Emma Ciafaloni, MD and Mary Schroth, MD, FAAP, FCCP discuss recent clinical trial designs and results for new disease-modifying treatments in SMA: onasemnogene and risdiplam.

Emma Ciafaloni, MD and a panel of experts in SMA review the efficacy of nusinersen by discussing difference between clinical trial results and real-world clinical application.

A multidisciplinary panel of experts discusses the rapid pace of advancements in disease-modifying treatments and shares insights into how to work with payors to adapt and improve policies.

Panelists provide insight into current challenges with payor models and early screening for SMA and discuss the importance of partnering with payors when rapid diagnosis and treatment are required.

Experts in the management of SMA discuss the screening and diagnosis of infants, children, and adult patients and emphasize the importance of health care equity to avoid treatment delay.

Key opinion leaders in SMA emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and centers of excellence in the early diagnosis and treatment of spinal muscular atrophy.

A multidisciplinary panel of experts discusses the clinical burden of spinal muscular atrophy on patients, families, and caregivers and considers the importance of patient education and advocacy.

An expert neurologist, Emma Ciafaloni, MD, provides an overview of the epidemiology of spinal muscular atrophy and discusses symptom burden, differential diagnosis, and prevalence.

A letter from the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Accountable Care®.

Use of clinical decision support (CDS) in ambulatory clinics is increasing but remains modest. The CDS function with the greatest use is basic medication screening, which increased from 52% of clinics nationally in 2014 to 61% in 2016.

Based on findings from a 2-state exploratory study, the authors articulate research-informed action steps for promoting state government roles in the pursuit of a culture of health.

The authors discuss health information technology in the context of health systems, the potential harm of electronic health record vendor consolidation, and overcoming barriers in providers’ experience.

Using longitudinal data, this paper examines to what extent comparative quality information in the form of healthcare "report cards" is reaching chronically ill adults.