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The 42nd annual meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers ensured that none of the oncology care providers in the audience left without realizing that healthcare has slowly been migrating to include value in care delivery and reimbursement decisions.

What we're reading, March 18, 2016: Covered California is considered removing hospitals with poor performance from the exchange; an outbreak in Wisconsin spreads to Michigan; #ZikaVirus infection in the US climbs to 450.

The research puts data behind long-simmering complaints from patients and clinicians about availability of diabetes test strips.

Health plans that manage complex populations covered by Medicaid often have to get creative in order to provide care for their consumers, explained panelists at America’s Health Insurance Plans’ National Health Policy Conference.

Joseph Alvar­nas, MD, direc­tor of value-based analytics at City of Hope, Duarte, California, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncology painted an upbeat picture of cancer cure rates at the 2015 meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care.

A new study in Australia adds to the evolving knowledge on adverse cutaneous effects of pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Could they also indicate better prognosis?

What we're reading, March 17, 2016: doctors who receive more industry money prescribe more brand name drugs; researchers project risk of Zika virus transmission in the US; and use of generic Gleevec could save $100,000 per patient.

Recent analysis supports the potential importance of using biosimiliars of granulocyte colony stimulating factor to manage neutropenia affecting post-chemotherapy and post-op patients.

Dermatologists have conducted a research study that proves "smartphone microscopes" can improve the detection of skin cancer in remote areas and in developing nations, where specialists are not as easily accessible to patients.

Rather than decreasing healthcare spending, retail health clinics actually modestly increase spending by $14 per person per year.

Regeneron and Sanofi vowed to appeal the ruling; analysts said that process could take at least a year. While Amgen has asked for a permanent injunction, some see payment of royalties to Amgen as a more likely outcome if Regeneron is ultimately not successful.

Researchers found patients taking canagliflozin had more improvement in A1C levels than those taking DPP-4 inhibitors, and those taking canagliflozin were more likely to achieve key thresholds recognized by Medicare and other payers.

FDA has granted a Priority Review designation for the breakthrough programmed death ligand-1 inhibitor atezolizumab, for the treatment of bladder cancer.

The older generation may have income above the official poverty line, but while they may not be legally termed “poor,” they still might not have enough financial means required to maintain a decent quality of life in California.

What we're reading, March 16, 2016: there is a big divide between the rural and urban health; exercise is rarely prescribed for chronic conditions; and NFL executive acknowledges link between football and degenerative brain disease.

Updated guidelines on the use of colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) in people with cancer address the strengths and limitations of the use of CSFs, which reduce the risk of neutropenia.

Idelalisib has presented serious adverse events in combination trials in both the US and Europe.

The guideline is designed to improve decision-making when prescribing pain medication. CDC authors note that the sheer rise of opioid prescriptions cannot be explained by the underlying health status of the population.

At the end of February, Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), answered questions on Twitter about the latest trends in cancer care and discussed COA’s concerns with the president’s moonshot initiative and the 340B drug pricing program.

Individuals facing end of life-whether that be for themselves, or a family member-encounter an array of challenges when attempting to decide among the end-of-life care options that are available. Health care professionals sometimes struggle with providing guidance, as well.

Michael Castagna, PharmD, MBA, has significant sales and marketing experience, but does he have enough time or money to rescue Afrezza?

What we're reading, March 15, 2016: Bernie Sanders proposes a prize fund to spur drug development for HIV/AIDS; one news outlet is going to court to unseal documents related to OxyContin's marketing; and report highlights the emotional trauma healthcare providers face after making a serious medical error.

A new report published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology has drawn a mixed picture of oncology care in the United States-reduced mortality, increased survivors, and progress in treatment coupled with unsustainable costs and an unstable clinical setting.

A new study found the prevalence of neutropenia in routine complete blood cell counts directly associated with viral infections, hematological malignancies, and mortality.

Two inhibitors of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor approved for the treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer do not prevent cancer recurrence when used in the adjuvant setting following surgery, according to a new study in the Lancet.

More than one-fourth of readmissions are potentially preventable and may be avoided with improved communication among healthcare teams and with patients.

Factors determining access to care are closely associated with hospital and emergency department visits among adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The change comes ahead of a proposed merger with Aetna; executive pay tied to that transaction is not affected by this pay-for-performance initiative.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will now be able to treat all veterans who have hepatitis C instead of restricting treatment to only the sickest.

Both the authors and the writer of an editorial said obese women should be warned of potential risks, but that with absolute stroke risk low, they should not be denied access to contraception.