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Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, a precancerous blood condition that rarely progresses to myeloma, can be predicted by a pattern of frequent hospital visits, and finding it earlier could present an opportunity to begin myeloma treatment earlier, thus improving outcomes.

School-based interventions for health issues pertinent to adolescents have been linked with beneficial outcomes, and a study published this week showed potential long-term benefits of a school-based sleep education program.

The rate of decrease in deaths from heart disease (HD) slowed between 2011 and 2014 versus 2000 and 2011, while the population above 65 years jumped 22.9% and there was a concurrent 38% rise in deaths from HD among this patient population.

Medicaid work requirements were front and center in the outcomes of Kentucky governor's race as well as the statehouse in Virginia; the Trump administration called the drug plan from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, "unworkable;" UnitedHealthcare is switching patients to biosimilar epoetin alfa in 2020;

A clofazimine-containing regimen was found to be well tolerated and potentially effective in patients with rapidly growing mycobacteria infection, especially nonpulmonary and non–Mycobacterium abscessus complex infections, according to retrospective cohort study findings.

The rapid advance of technology has ushered in new paradigms when it comes to healthcare, particularly for patients managing chronic conditions. Rather than traveling to a doctor’s office or healthcare facility, patients now have the ability to use digital tools at home to improve their care or connect with their providers.

Oncology care groups have praised the multipayer Oncology Care Model (OCM) for transforming cancer care through greater focus on care navigation, palliative care, survivorship, and keeping patients out of the emergency department. But there are complaints that practices can be penalized for elements beyond their control—notably, the soaring cost of state-of-the-art immunotherapies that were not on the market when the OCM was conceived.

Patients with prior preventive treatment failures for migraine were shown to benefit more from a higher dose of erenumab (140 mg) versus a lower dose (70 mg), according to study findings.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp released a Medicaid plan with a work requirement of 80 hours a month; a new Alzheimer drug derived from seaweed was given conditional approval in China; a study says California's vaccination law will have modest effect on childhood vaccination rates.

Researchers uncovered that patients with Parkinson disease could benefit from immune modulation as an alternative treatment, due to the condition’s influence on immune imbalance, according to study findings.

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham first isolated the kinase HIPK2 from among hundreds of potential targets by using bioinformatics to hone in on the protein kinase as a target for study.

The Trump administration's requirement for immigrants to prove their ability to afford or obtain health insurance for visas has been blocked; 6 tips in choosing a health plan; FDA advises heartburn medication manufacturers to recall pills.

Oral semgalutide’s price, along with its potential for adverse events, caused ICER to give empagliflozin the edge in cost effectiveness as physicians and health plans evaluate which type 2 diabetes therapy should be given after metformin.

There has been much speculation among the 175 practices still taking part in the OCM what will happen when the 5-year model expires in 2021. The RFI document states that the Oncology Care First model would start in January 2021, “when no new episodes would be initiating in OCM.”

A blood test showcased potential efficacy for screening and detection of breast cancer, according to an abstract to be presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference.

A review evaluating the methodological approaches of identifying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) found that when more criteria is combined, the more accurate the detection of COPD in terms of sensitivity and specificity.

Gut microbiome composition, sleep physiology, the immune system, and cognition were found to be interlinked, indicating possible therapies of gut microbiome manipulation to improve sleep quality, according to study findings.

Microsoft is partnering with an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution on an artificial intelligence, machine learning tool to process the vast amount of data flowing out of genomic research.

Authors led by Justin Carrico of RTI Health Solutions compared 9 different biologics and the oral drug apremilast in treatment of psoriasis; their anaylsis, “from a US health plan’s perspective,” involved both base cost and cost-effectiveness models that included adverse events.

Intranasal lidocaine may be a useful option for patients with an acute migraine, according to a study which showed the drug had a high success rate, low pain intensity, infrequent need for rescue medicine, and tolerable adverse events.

The Personal KinetiGraph (PKG) Movement Recording System may be effective for routine clinical care of patients with Parkinson disease (PD), according to a recent study.

The cost and care implications of osteoporosis are expected to grow substantially as the baby boomers age. A study published this year found the total annual cost of providing care for osteoporotic fractures among Medicare beneficiaries, including direct medical costs as well as indirect societal costs related to productivity losses and informal caregiving, would rise from $57 billion in 2018 to $95 billion in 2040 unless strategies are implemented to prevent fractures.

Greater non-motor symptom burden may be associated with thalamic atrophy in Parkinson disease (PD), suggesting that the thalamus has a significant role in processing sensory information including visceral afferent from the gastrointestinal tract and regulating states of sleep.

Highmark announced this week that its outcomes-based contract with AstraZeneca for the respiratory combination medication of budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) revealed positive results in improving outcomes for those with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The Trump administration is supporting Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO, the chief medical officer of MD Anderson Cancer Center, as the next FDA commissioner, and the current acting commissioner, Ned Sharpless, MD, is returning to his old job as head of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

This week, the top managed care stories included a report from the FDA considering how to avoid drug shortages; a white paper finds rising comfort with telehealth even as use of digital health tools stagnates; data show a spike in the number of uninsured children.

Broad population-based genomic screening has the potential to improve patient care by detecting genetic causes of disease before they occur; however, the economics behind this approach have not fully been validated, according to a session on the clinical and economic utility of whole-genome sequencing at the AMCP Nexus 2019 meeting.

An analysis of a carrier-based mandatory obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) program on truckers’ non–OSA-program medical insurance claim costs revealed substantial healthcare cost savings, according to study findings.

Rising rates of obesity and diabetes have raised concerns that more people could be headed for end-stage renal disease (ESRD); thus, Medicare has been seeking ways to reduce the cost of care and to improve the quality of life for people on dialysis. Scientists are focusing on whether more patients with early-stage type 2 diabetes should take sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors, which have been shown to slow renal decline.

Two studies report that children who get measles are more susceptible to other illnesses later; Indiana decides not to pursuue Medicaid work requirements; a Trump administration rule taking effect mandating health insurance for new immigrants is causing confusion.