Laura is the vice president of content for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and all its brands, including The American Journal of Accountable Care®, Evidence-Based Oncology™, and The Center for Biosimilars®. She has been working on AJMC® since 2014 and has been with AJMC®’s parent company, MJH Life Sciences®, since 2011.
She has an MA in business and economic reporting from New York University. You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Health Centers Reduce Spending by 24% for Medicaid Beneficiaries
Under the Affordable Care Act, health centers received federal funding to provide comprehensive primary care to patients in underserved communities. An analysis of Medicaid claims data in 13 states has found that these health centers reduced spending by 24% per Medicaid patient.
Infographic: Differences in Personal Health Record Adoption by Sociodemographics
While adoption of personal health records and electronic patient portals increased from 2012 to 2015, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical found that the adoption rates for Hispanics and low-income individuals have lagged behind non-Hispanics and higher-income individuals.
Millennials Show Improved Health, Well-Being Compared With Older Generations
Millennials are one of the few bright spots in American well-being. According to Gallup, millennials in the United States have a lower obesity rate compared with older generations, and millennials have actually seen their obesity rate go down since 2008.
Baltimore Launches Blueprint to Reduce Health Disparities by Half Over 10 Years
The city of Baltimore has released a blueprint for reducing health disparities in the city by half over the next decade. The Healthy Baltimore 2020 plan outlines priorities to promote health and well-being.
Infographic: How Young Adult Cancer Survivors Are Hit Hard by Treatment Costs
In the August issue of Evidence-Based Oncology, The Samfund's Samantha Watson, MBA, and Michelle Landwehr, MPH, outline how young adult cancer survivors are disproportionately affected by treatment costs. This infographic breaks down the vicious cycle these patients get stuck in.
Pioneering Healthcare Quality: How Margaret O'Kane and NCQA Changed the Landscape
Margaret E. O'Kane has been making lasting impacts on healthcare quality measurement for years. But when she founded the National Committee for Quality Assurance, the organization was sometimes underestimated and not taken seriously.
HHS Attempts to Assuage Fears Regarding 2017 Premiums for ACA Plans
As health insurers reduce their involvement in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s insurance exchanges and states approve sharp premium increases for 2017, HHS is trying to assuage fears that coverage under the ACA will be unaffordable for consumers next year.
Non-Orphan Use of Orphan Drugs Drives Up Cost
The use of orphan drugs for non-orphan diseases is driving up the cost of these already expensive medications. A new report from America’s Health Insurance Plans found that almost half of the utilization for 46 orphan drugs were used for non-orphan indications.
Dr Karen B. DeSalvo Steps Down as ONC Head, Dr Vindell Washington to Take Over
Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, the national coordinator for health information technology, will be relinquishing the position on August 12. HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell sent an e-mail to HHS staff to announce the change.
Physical Activity Lowers Risk of 5 Common Chronic Diseases
Higher levels of activity were associated with a significantly lowered risk for outcomes in 5 common chronic diseases; however, the largest gains were made at lower levels of activity with diminishing gains as activity levels increased.
Treated Patients With Alzheimer's Disease Experience Increased Survival, Reduced Costs
A new study, presented at the 2016 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, suggested that treating people with Alzheimer’s disease may increase survival and reduce cost, even though the treatment does not change the underlying course of the disease.
The Future of the Health Record and Interoperability
The way the meaningful use program was structured was more about the adoption of electronic health records and not interoperability, and in order to get there, the US health system needs to first understand what it wants interoperability to do.