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Of US women between the ages of 15 and 49, 64.9% use some form of contraception, and the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives is increasing; people with prolonged opioid use have an increased risk for cardiovascular problems, but they are also more likely to develop major surgery complications; there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and they struggle to receive basic medical care.

CDC noted a rise in black lung disease, a potentially lethal disease, with a new report of a cluster of 60 cases identified in former and current coal miners at a single eastern Kentucky radiologist’s practice from January 2015 to August 2016.

The authors, led by Kashyap Patel, MD, offer the first in a series of articles on how Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates leveraged the strength of its team to take part in the Oncology Care Model.

A study of more than 2000 people with migraine found that red wine was singled out most frequently as a cause of migraine attacks, whereas vodka was indicated least frequently.

Incidence of febrile neutropenia, hospitalizations, and chemotherapy dose reductions and/or delays were similar between short- and long-acting granulocyte-colony stimulating factors, according to a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

One-quarter of the government shut down early Saturday, and as the partial shutdown is expected to continue into the new year, several federal agencies will be impacted, including the FDA.

Long-term nicotine replacement therapy (LT-NRT) provides 1 way for smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to try to quit, but does not result in greater rates of cessation or harm reduction, according to a recently published study.

A recent study looked to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in patients with genotype 1 (HCV-1) infection.

A recent trial looked to compare the efficacy and safety of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with the standard of care for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) who are on Medicaid in Oregon can expect to receive curative treatment in 2019 without having to wait for liver damage to set in.

According to a new study, single-tablet regimens may provide better virologic response and control than multiple-tablet regimens for people living with HIV, likely due to a lower pill burden and, subsequently, better medication adherence.

In 2018, articles in The American Journal of Accountable Care® (AJAC) analyzed experiences within accountable care organizations (ACOs), the cost-effectiveness of initiatives to prevent readmissions, and much more. Here are the top 5 most-read articles published in AJAC in 2018.

Michigan’s plan to require Medicaid beneficiaries to show workforce engagement was approved by the Trump administration, while attorneys continue to challenge Arkansas’ own Medicaid work requirements; a new report from the Government Accountability Office has highlighted serious deficiencies with how the FDA administers the Orphan Drug Act; the FDA has granted tentative approval to a weekly and monthly treatment for moderate-to-severe opioid use disorder (OUD), but cannot grant final approval until another treatment’s exclusivity period ends.

Here are 5 interesting findings from the December 2018 issue of AJMC®.

An estimated 553,000 individuals in the United States are homeless on any given night, yet few data are available to give insight into the patterns of acute illness in this particularly vulnerable population.

Which risk factors of osteoporosis can be modified, and which cannot? With osteoporosis causing more than 9 million fractures globally, understanding how to prevent it can reduce this growing threat to a rapidly aging population, researchers recently reported.

Current guidelines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) call for using antibiotics in the emergency department (ED) when presented with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). A recent study sought to determine the rate at which patients with AECOPD are treated with antibiotics and also looked at the proportions of antibiotic classes prescribed, trends of antibiotic treatment, and identified independent predictors of antibiotic therapy.

Technology and issues with reimbursement with of interest to authors writing for our diabetes journal this year.

Dublin, Ireland-based S3 Connected Health discusses the need to identify barriers to healthy behavior as well as factors that can promote healthy actions.

Molly MacDonald, the founder and CEO of The Pink Fund, writes about how patients with breast cancer can approach decisions about choosing among disparate treatment protocols.

Primary care clinics are beginning to integrate more patient-reported outcomes into practice, especially with implementation of the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System. However, little is known about whether patients perceive reporting these outcome measures as useful.

Contributors to AJMC.com share their expertise about important, timely topics in managed care on a regular basis, and in 2018, these were the top 5 most-read articles they wrote and published on our online managed care network.

The practices that have been participating in CMS’ Oncology Care Model have undergone significant practice transformation in order to be successful in the program. However, even after being in the model for 2 years, there are still remaining opportunities for investment.

The efficacy and safety of glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P, sold as Mavyret) in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) has previously only been investigated in clinical trials. Thus far, no real-world data had been available until a group of researchers looked to investigate the efficacy and safety of G/P in a real-world setting in Italy.

The COORDINATE-Diabetes seeks to explore what happens between development of clinical guidelines and their translation into clinical practice.

Increased severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was associated with an increased risk of mortality and hospitalization in patients with heart failure, according to a recent study published in JAMA Open.

Health information technology (IT), specifically electronic health records, came with promise of improving high-quality patient care. However, unintended consequences of the technology have exacerbated physician burnout in the United States. In response, HHS has released a draft strategy for addressing health IT–related burden.

CMS has finalized “Pathways to Success,” its overhaul of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) that will push accountable care organizations to assume risk more quickly. The final rule includes some changes to the proposed rule, which was introduced in August.

Focusing on patients with latent tuberculosis (TB) infection who are at high risk of developing active TB may be key to eliminating the disease in the United States; however, a study found that physicians are not systematically identifying risk levels for patients with latent TB.

Earlier this week, the FDA granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).