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The state of value-based contracting in specialty pharmacy was addressed in a panel discussion at Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas, with speakers touching on the essentials of such agreements, how to optimally integrate them, and future considerations for the pharmaceutical marketplace.

Medicare punished more than 2000 hospitals for high readmissions; cigarette sales increased in 2020 for the first time in 2 decades; a cheap antidepressant showed promise as an affordable oral treatment for COVID-19.

In the years since its inception, debates around the 340B program have centered on whether savings actually benefit the underserved as intended. A new paper in The American Journal of Managed Care® analyzed secondary data on 340B participation and uncompensated care provision from general acute care and critical access hospitals between 2003 and 2015.

Theresa Juday, RPh, director, Specialty Product Development, CVS Health, discusses how payer interest in the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia has grown in recent years.

A study concluded that use of a multigene liquid biopsy blood biomarker for diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors was over 94% effective at predicting tumor recurrence compared with other commonly used biomarker, Chromogranin A.

Panelists of the opening session at Asembia 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit in Las Vegas address emerging shifts in specialty pharmacy, its impact on the health care system, and future implications post pandemic.

Risankizumab, a biologic, is used for psoriasis, but whether it can improve asthma control has been unclear.

For 3 categories of evaluation, elevated cardiac troponin I levels most influenced the development of myocardial injury among persons at higher lifetime weight totals.

In studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology 2021 meeting, success was reported for RBX2660, a treatment for clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).

The authors said long-term trends in Parkinson disease were previously unknown and that the findings are important to determining national health care priorities.

Researchers in Poland examined the impact of vitamin D deficiency on patients with type 1 diabetes undergoing pancreas transplants.

Use of comprehensive genomic profiling in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was linked with significant improvements in progression-free survival and overall survival.

Michelle Afkhami, MD, from City of Hope, discusses best practices for oncology organizations to leverage molecular/genomic testing, the importance of identifying RET-positive patients early so they can receive targeted treatment, and more.

An FDA advisory panel voted 17-0 in favor of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years; COVID-19 pill molnupiravir to be manufactured and sold in 105 developing nations; new US COVID-19 cases dropped nearly 60% in just over a month.

The incidence of chronic liver disease is expected to sharply rise by 2030, making it important to understand the factors that influence patient outcomes.

Collaboration with community partners recognized for patient care excellence.

A new review article highlights some of the newest therapies available to treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), but the authors say there is insufficient data to draw broad conclusions.

Amanda Ely, CEO, introduces us to The Children's HIV Association (CHIVA) of the United Kingdom and Ireland and details how the experiences of young persons living with HIV differ from those who acquire the virus as adults.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we discuss senior health needs amid the pandemic and how Centerwell Senior Primary Care's holistic, team-based approach and value-based care delivery contributed to upticks in senior patient visits despite fears of COVID-19.

Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine was found to be safe and effective in children aged 6 to 11 years; the Biden administration seeks to increase the availability of cost-effective rapid at-home COVID-19 tests; President Joe Biden will impose new vaccine requirements for international air travelers and lift current travel restrictions.

Pregnant women with psoriasis were found to be at increased risk of experiencing preterm birth and Cesarean delivery, with patients undergoing anti-rheumatic treatment during their first pregnancy indicated to be at significantly greater risk.

A pan-cancer reference atlas provides a framework for an immune-based patient stratification that study authors expect to be predictive for patient prognosis and immunotherapy response at an elevated level after further studies.

Results of a retrospective study found no benefits among older patients whose diabetes medication was intensified following short hospital admissions.

In patients refractory to conventional therapy, the combination resulted in a 70% reduction in a key biomarker compared with placebo.

Posters presented at AMCP Nexus 2021 evaluated the health care resource utilization (HRU) and costs associated with the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies tisagenlecleucel and axicabtagene ciloleucel.

Migraineurs tend to have more anxiety when it comes to dental procedures compared with those without migraine.

Education is needed for both patients and pharmacists to ensure appropriate understanding, investigators reported at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2021 meeting.

The report suggests factors besides molecular profiling can be helpful in patient stratification.

The first-of-its-kind port delivery system with ranibizumab serves as the first wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatment in 15 years to provide an alternative to frequent eye injections.

Local anesthesia yields superior outcomes in pregnant women with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) undergoing cesarean deliveries compared with general anesthesia.