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House passes spending bill that includes funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program for 6 years; researchers work on an experimental blood test that could detect 8 cancers; President Donald Trump plans to slash the budget of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by as much as 95%.

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

Although risk targeting may improve screening efficiency in terms of early lung cancer mortality per person screened, the gains in efficiency are modest in terms of life-years, quality-adjusted life-years, and cost-effectiveness, according to a study recently published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

The pairing will give employers and health plans "holistic" solutions for chronic disease management, according to CEOs of the companies.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the administration will review the so-called Stark Law, which was enacted to prevent independent physicians from referring Medicare patients to facilities where they have a financial benefit.

New Jersey's largest payer will track a host of measures, including some that will evaluate the quality of end-of-life care.

President Donald Trump may have inched the government closer to a federal shutdown when he tweeted Thursday morning that the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)—the program that funds healthcare for millions of low-income children—should be part of a long-term solution and not part of a short-term spending bill.

HHS proposes allowing healthcare providers to decline performing services based on moral or religious objections; HHS secretary nominee will advance to full Senate vote; a government shutdown could have long-lasting public health effects.

Operating revenue cycle and patient experience in separate silos doesn't make sense in an era when the patient is responsible for more of a hospital's revenue.

With the dramatic shift toward precision medicine in cancer care, health systems, pharmaceutical companies and technology companies should ensure that the oncologist is at the center of their strategy.

Patients having total knee arthroplasty treated with liposomal bupivacaine were discharged to their homes sooner and had a significantly shorter hospital stay compared with patients who did not receive the drug during surgery, according to a recently published study looking at the value and cost effectiveness of the drug.

A study finds that protein markers may be a better predictor of drug response than genetic mutation are in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). As a result, some patients who could benefit from treatment may not be eligible under current approval specifications.

Given that 2018 marks the last year of the transition-year policies, implementation challenges identified during the first 2 years of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) preparation and execution must be addressed to ensure effective delivery of high-value care as intended.

Biomarkers of renal dysfunction, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation were associated with incident heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. By contrast, only natriuretic peptides and urinary albumin to creatinine ratio were associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a finding that highlights the need for future studies focused on identifying novel biomarkers of the risk of HFpEF, according to a study in JAMA Cardiology.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is calling on regulators and Southern Illinois University to account for reports that a researcher conducted rogue trials of an experimental herpes vaccine.

An inquiry by 10 Democrats on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs into whether or not the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would research medical marijuana in veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain was met with denial.

Researchers at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute have developed a method that more accurately identifies new versus long-standing HIV infections, an important distinction when determining where to target public health initiatives and research.

Wal-Mart is providing customers with a way to safely dispose of unused opioids; Kentucky's governor signs a bill to protect his Medicaid overhaul; Maryland coalition aims to ban price gouging for specialty and brand-name drugs.

There is little clinical significance when comparing weight loss among patients who underwent laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and patients who had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, according to studies published in JAMA as part of an obesity themed issue.

https://www.pharmacytimes.org/landing/1087

The FDA has launched a new pilot program that will evaluate whether disclosing certain information within clinical study reports following approval of a new drug application enhances public access to drug approval information, according to a statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD. The agency is also working to add a trial's ClinicalTrials.gov identifier number to the agency’s materials for future drug approvals.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced new steps Tuesday to address the growing shortage of supplies related to IV saline fluids in the wake of the damage to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, including asking companies to submit data to extend expiration dates. The tight supply of saline products has been worsened by an increased demand for saline as a result of the worse-than-typical flu season.

Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but not all smokers develop the condition, and many non-smokers do. Why that is has remained a mystery until now, as a research team, funded by the National Institutes of Health, has discovered genetic variations in the anatomy of the lungs could serve as early-warning indicators.

Poor baseline Lung Immune Prognistic Index (combining derived neutrophils ratio greater than 3 and lactate dehydrogenase greater than upper limit of normal), or LIPI, was associated with worse outcomes for immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but not with results of chemotherapy, according to a study in JAMA Oncology.

The language used by doctors contributes to why patients don't understand what they are told; the number of American adults without health insurance grew 1.3 percentage points from the end of 2016 to the end of 2017; women are increasingly faced with the decision between 2D and 3D mammograms.

Tamper-resistant formulations of oxycodone and other opioid tablets does not have a significant effect on the population, according to an Australian study published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Chris Christie vowed to devote his final year as New Jersey's governor to fighting opioid abuse. A veteran advocate says Christie has accomplished more than people realize, and his use of the bully pulpit should not be underestimated.

Physicians create 12.6 million jobs and $2.3 trillion of economic activity, according to the American Medical Association in a new report, The National Economic Impact of Physicians. The study looked at 4 key economic indicators in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia: total output; jobs; wages and benefits; and state and local tax revenue generated by physicians.

The trial evaluates the immunotherapy drug durvalumab as maintenance therapy in patients who have successfully undergone R0/R1 resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma following neoadjuvant chemotherapy and completion of adjuvant chemotherapy.