All News

For the second year, Anthony D. Slonim, MD, DrPH, is in the running for Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders. Recently, he discussed what it means to be a physician leader, the industry’s move to population health, and more.

In an effort to address safety concerns regarding severe neutropenia, the FDA has made changes to requirements for monitoring prescribing, dispensing, and receiving the schizophrenia medicine clozapine.

The Biologics License Application for the tumor necrosis factor alpha blocker, ABP 501, was submitted following results from a phase 3 study in 500 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

When patients cannot understand discharge instructions, it's questionable whether it's fair to penalize them when patients return to the hospital.

The update calls on primary care practices and health plans to have places to send those patients who screen positive for depression.

Personalized medicine has been the mantra in healthcare for quite some time, but finding health plans with blanket coverage policies for diagnostic testing is a struggle.

What we're reading, January 26, 2016: Republicans will use Congressional Budget Office report to justify steep spending cuts; Centene has misplaced 950,000 files of personal health information; and the US is facing a troublesome shortage of geriatricians.

States that have not expanded Medicaid are seeing the fallout in hospital budgets and in local governments that must make up difference for those who fall in the coverage gap.

Researchers found that physicians often seized the "opportunity" to start dialysis if patients were in the hospital for other illnesses.

What we're reading, January 25, 2016: Cigna faces sanctions from CMS; a Massachusetts senator blocks the nomination of Robert Califf, MD, for FDA commissioner; and hospitals and health systems are mostly unprepared for precision medicine.

As Americans as asked to pay a greater portion of their healthcare expenditures, new insurance design models are being implemented, such as value-based insurance design, to combat issues like nonadherence.

High deductibles do not ensure that enrollees price shop for their healthcare more than traditional plan enrollees do.

The authors of the study recommend lowering the screening age for colorectal cancer (CRC), especially for first-degree relatives of CRC patients and those with a genetic predisposition to the disease.

The use of state managed care Medicaid programs have increased, but new research finds that these programs have mixed financial outcomes.

Patient-reported symptoms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may contribute information that can be used to infer future exacerbations and related costs.

A look at the latest news in healthcare, including a study that identifies an increased risk of diabetes in cancer survivors, 2 FDA approvals, Senator Bernie Sanders released a plan for universal healthcare coverage in the US, and the economics of aging.

Top managed care stories this week included UnitedHealth reporting larger-than-expected losses on Affordable Care Act health plans, new guidelines from the government that will improve patient access to medical records, and new information that can reduce risk of diabetes.

A program for homebound patients reduces spending and improves care in high-risk older Medicare beneficiaries.

The profile of high-cost patients in a Massachusetts ACO differed greatly, depending on their enrollment in Medicare, Medicaid, or a commercial plan.

Presenting patients with a one-page handout of information on additional interventions and data on the low value of a service did little to dissuade patients choosing to use a low-value service.

After pressure from insurers over concerns of rising costs, the government is eliminating several special open enrollment periods and will provide stronger enforcement of the remaining special open enrollment periods.

Carfilzomib has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with dexamethasone or lenalidomide, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who have previously received 1 to 3 lines of therapy.

The program seeks to reach an estimated 86 million Americans who have prediabetes, almost all whom don't know they have it.

What we're reading, January 22, 2016: the average premium under the Affordable Care Act rose to $408 before tax credits; seniors will face higher Medicare Advantage premiums with a merge between Aetna and Humana; and Hawaii could be the first state to offer long-term care benefits.

An individualized comprehensive care package for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients reduces 90-day mortality.

An estimated 15.7% of individuals 65 or older may have received nonrecommended screenings for prostate and breast cancer, according to a new study published in JAMA Oncology.

Palliative care initiated in the emergency department for patients with advanced cancer improves quality of life without shortening survival.

The study found a stronger association than researchers expected; it appears that risky behavior in one area implies risky behavior elsewhere.

Patients with high mental health care costs incur nearly 30% more costs than the usual high-cost patients.

A pocket veto ends hopes of Medicaid coverage for the Diabetes Prevention Program, MannKind partners with a pain medication manufacturer, and Governor Terry Branstad finds more Medicaid managed care woes.