All News

Measuring quality in psychiatric care and using mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques for better pain management were some of the ideas of interest to managed care professionals at the 27th US Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress, which opened Saturday in Orlando, Florida.

Doug Fridsma, MD, PhD, FACP, FACMI, is leaving his position as the chief science officer for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to become the president and CEO of the American Medical Informatics Association.

The drug is the first in it's class - an antibody designed to engage 2 different targets simultaneously.

The biosensor, which can detect the oxidative stress marker 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, is 5-times more sensitive than the ELISA test that is commonly used to identify biomarkers.

In response to the growing recognition that physician leadership is essential to the successful transformation of healthcare, the American College of Physician Executives is becoming the American Association for Physician Leadership.

In 2013, lower health insurance rates saved consumers a total of $1 billion. States that enhanced their rate review programs will receive $25 million in rate review grant awards.

Since 2000, small-group health insurance premiums averaged annual increases of 5.5% nationally; however, double-digit increases were not uncommon, according to a report from the Urban Institute.

The approval in CLL is supported primarily by data from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial in combination with rituximab in 220 patients with relapsed CLL who were not able to tolerate standard chemotherapy. The approval in FL, is supported by data from a single-arm phase 2 study (Study 101-09) of Zydelig monotherapy in 125 iNHL patients refractory to rituximab and alkylating-agent-containing chemotherapy.

One of the most vexing problems in managed care is the lack of pricing transparency: patients can't act like consumers when they don't have information on what they are buying. This week, the need for healthcare pricing transparency took center stage in several places.

The study, conducted in pancreatic cancer patients in Norway, was presented at the annual meeting of the International Contrast Ultrasound Society in Chicago.

Although a majority of adults with health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace said they find it easy to afford the care they need, the number of people still enrolled has dipped to 7.3 million, according to recent numbers.

Sweeping changes to the way America delivers care at the end of life would better serve patients and their families while bringing the healthcare savings that managed care has long sought, according to the Institute of Medicine report, "Dying in America," which was released yesterday.

After examining the security and privacy of the Healthcare.gov website and its supporting systems at CMS, the Government Accountability Office published a report with 6 security management and 22 technical security recommendations.

The study, published in Lancet Oncology, found that ramucirumab significantly improved survival by over 2 months.

As part of National Health IT Week, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, outlined its 10-year vision to achieve interoperability for health IT.

The study, published this week in Nature Genetics, is the product of an international collaboration that has identified 23 new loci that could lead to an increased risk of developing prostate cancer.

Although approved last September in the European Union, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence had refused to cover the drug at the company-dictated price, which resulted in patients paying out-of-pocket.

Novo Nordisk's new long-acting insulin, Tresiba, has been shown to be effective and safe for long-term use in children and young adults with type 1 diabetes, according to new data from a late-stage trial presented on Tuesday.

A study published today found that 16 major U.S. food companies that pledged to cut calories from foods sold consumers cut 6.4 million calories, or 10.6 percent, over a five-year period ending in 2012. Authors of the study say the results show that selling Americans healthier food need not be at odds with a healthy bottom line, and that "the results should encourage other manufacturers and retailers to follow suit."

In a study of 3 hospitals in Massachusetts, more than a quarter of patient orders were considered partially defensive medicine, but they only accounted for 13% of costs.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, wants a policy revamp on screening guidelines for the women who fall in this category.

Anthem Blue Cross is partnering with 7 rival hospital systems in California to create a new integrated health system in the Los Angeles and Orange counties. The members will share financial risk and gain.

The antibody, an inhibitor of the enzyme lysyl oxidase-like-2, combined with gemcitabine, did not have a significant effect on progression-free survival compared to the placebo with gemcitabine arm, in pancreatic cancer patients.

The American Medical Association has released a framework to improve usability of electronic health records so as to benefit the patients and providers.

Research presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology identified VEGF-A and TGF-beta as markers of treatment decision in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

During the second year of the program, Medicare accountable care organizations reported improvements in nearly all of the quality and patient experience measures, according to data reported by CMS.

Gilead has licensed sofosbuvir to drugmakers in India who will sell cheaper versions of this revolutionary treatment in 91 developing nations.

Ascension Health will form a joint venture with a division of Envision Healthcare to provide an array of post-acute services, including home care, hospice care, and infusion therapy.

The results of a phase 1b study, presented at the AACR special conference "Targeting the PI3K-mTOR Network in Cancer," found that Alpelisib could overcome resistance to the anti-EGFR antibody cetuximab, and the two regimens together were quite beneficial.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the result of a collaboration between CVS Caremark and scientists at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, compared patient adherence to brand name versus generic statins.