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A new study published in the February issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients that received radiofrequency catheter ablation compared with traditional drug therapies for atrial fibrillation (AF) had significantly lower hospitalization and mortality rates.

Despite an official policy since early 2017 that calls for Medicare to cover CGM for certain beneficiaries with diabetes, an attorney who won a landmark case prior to the policy change reports that beneficiaries are still being denied coverage.

Indiana became the second state in the country to receive approval to implement work requirements for people receiving Medicaid.

House GOP leaders are reportedly looking at a 2-month stopgap measure to keep the government open past next week in a deal that would fund community health centers, which serve 27 million Americans, for 2 years. Without a deal with Democrats, the government shuts down February 8.

Replacing the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) with a voluntary program should encourage providers to move quicker into more risk-based payment models, according to Travis Broome, vice president for policy at Aledade.

Trump's calls for cracking down on drug prices and enacting right-to-try legislation bring a reaction on Wall Street, but speaking for less than a minute on on the opioid crisis brings a different response from Democratic lawmakers.

This week, the top managed care news included President Donald Trump vowing to lower drug prices during his State of the Union address; 3 corporate giants joined forces on healthcare; and CAR T-cell therapy was named the cancer advance of the year.

The flu vaccine is just 17% effective against the current virus; Indiana dropped 25,000 people from its Medicaid program for not paying premiums; the CDC is cutting back on efforts to prevent infectious disease outbreaks in other countries as funding runs out.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Including pharmacists in a team-based care model to treat patients with chronic pain can help primary care physicians create a plan to safely prescribe opioids to this population.

Using an “ingestible mini pill box,” researchers have developed a slow-release pill to deliver HIV treatment. Once inside the stomach, the capsule unfolds into a 6-armed structure, accommodating multiple drugs at a time.

New research on breast cancer biopsies and counseling after treatment will allow surgeons to have more meaningful conversations with their patients, according to a study published in JAMA Surgery.

For patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), getting and staying organized and maintaining focus on the right things at the right time is a challenge. Some solutions are touted at the start of every year in the form of “getting organized” with the latest planners, smartphones as well as smart home devices like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home.

Higher resting heart rate (HR) and increases in HR over time are associated with increased risk of adverse cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV events, such as incident heart failure and all-cause mortality, according to a study published in JAMA Cardiology.

Democrats push for a Medicaid buy-in option in New Mexico; half of the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't receiving the mental health care they need; Utah moves forward with 2 bills related to medical marijuana.

E-cigarette smokers have a high risk of developing lung and bladder cancer, as well as certain heart diseases due to carcinogenic e-cigarette smoke (ECS), according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Last year brought one weather disaster after another. With 2017 in the past, it is best to take a bit of time and figure out how your medical practice is prepared should 2018 be the year a disaster hits your practice.

Final updated results of the pivotal phase 2 study that led to last year’s FDA approval of the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

One in every 4 drugs approved by the FDA over the past 4 years was a personalized medicine, and the agency approved a record-breaking 16 personalized therapies in the past year, according to a new report from the multi-stakeholder group the Personalized Medicine Coalition.

While the wholesale acquisition cost of the hemophilia A drug is approximately $482,000 for the first year of treatment and $448,000 for subsequent years, a draft report found that the drug would reduce the budget by approximately $1.85 billion per patient annually for patients aged 12 and older. In patents aged 12 and younger, emicizumab at wholesale acquisition cost pricing would reduce the budget by approximately $720,000 per patient annually.

CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, MD, resigned Wednesday, one day after reports that she traded tobacco stocks while heading the agency.

President Donald Trump returned to a popular campaign theme in Tuesday’s State of the Union address when he vowed to bring down the high cost of prescription drugs.

The Cancer Surveillance and Outcomes Research Team at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center recently developed an interactive online tool to help patients with breast cancer understand their treatment options more fully.

With adoption of electronic health records around 90%, the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology is now focusing on increasing usability and interoperability.

Four telehealth bills could be signed into law over the next year by Congress; President Donald Trump mentioned "right-to-try" legislation in a favorable light in his State of the Union speech; the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold legislation hearings on the opioid crisis February 26.

The benefits and challenges of joining CMS' Virtual Group option for healthcare providers to report their Quality Payment Program (QPP) measures from 2018.

The mobile health services company CareSpeak provides an interactive health messaging platform through 2-way texting designed to engage patients and/or their caregivers, family, and friends throughout the patient journey.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been named the Advance of the Year in ASCO’s Clinical Cancer Advances 2018. According to the annual report, CAR T-cell therapy is “poised to transform the outlook for children and adults with certain otherwise incurable cancers."

Will healthcare become the ultimate employee discount for US workers of Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway? Or something bigger for all Americans? The 3 disparate companies announced they will form a separate, independent company “free from profit-making incentives and constraints” to tackle the vexing problem of rising healthcare costs for employees and their families.

As a result of the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule that took effect on January 1, 85% of 340B hospitals will see net payment increases in 2018. Rural hospitals will reap the largest benefits, according to an analysis conducted by Avalere and commissioned by Community Oncology Alliance.