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Over the last decade, all 5 national coordinators for health information technology have discussed the importance of connecting healthcare data, but the timing is finally right now, according to Karen B. DeSalvo, MD.

Although people seem to assume Big Data will answer all questions and improve quality of care while increasing efficiencies, the healthcare industry needs to focus on what data is actually actionable, according to John Halamka, MD, chief information officer at Beth Israel Deaconess.

Amid yesterday's good news from the CDC that Americans are living longer than ever was a sobering fact. Rates for the top 10 causes of death all fell from 2011 to 2012, save one: suicide. The death rate increased from 12.3 to 12.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

A Taiwan study found a significantly reduced risk of cancer among RA patients on biologics.

Payroll audits to ensure proper staffing and better tracking of the use of antipsychotic medications are just 2 new items that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) will add to its list of quality measures for nursing homes starting in January, the agency that oversees all Medicare spending announced Monday. The changes are due to passage of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act (IMPACT) which President Obama signed Monday. Some of the changes will bring managed care concepts to the home health sector, where regulations have not been updated in 25 years

Results of a large study performed across cancer centers in Germany, published online October 6, 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that 32% of people with cancer experienced some form of clinically relevant mental health challenge, such as anxiety, depressive and adjustment disorders.

Including pharmacy benefits as part of an employer's total health insurance benefit package has clear health benefits and cost savings, according to a study from Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Prime Therapeutics, LLC.

Nationwide, Pioneer ACOs saved the government $96 million last year, compared with $87.6 million in 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last month.

Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, writes in the Journal of the American Medical Association that cancer drugs could be charged different prices by indication, since the value for patients varies. His article appeared days before an appearance on 60 Minutes to discuss the high price of cancer drugs.

Combining nivolumab, an immuno-oncology molecule, with 1 of 3 targeted agents from Novartis is expected to improve patient response in NSCLC.

Chemotherapy drugs, which could be poisons, can result in adverse health outcomes in healthcare workers who administer them to patients without adequate safety measures.

During the third year of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, CMS will penalize more hospitals than it did during the second and third years of the program; however, the overall readmission rate for Medicare beneficiaries is down.

A new research study from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School showed that niclosamide ethanolamine salt (NEN) can burn the excess fat in the liver cells of mice through a process known as mitochondrial uncoupling. Fat accumulation in the liver is a typical characteristic of diabetic patients.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals announced the failure of a phase 3 study Monday morning. The company's experimental drug vosaroxin did not extend survival of elderly patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia compared to a placebo.

A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that lack of awareness resulted in women over 65 and those who had undergone hysterectomy routinely undergoing a Pap test.

ASCO has been working in parallel with various other institutions to generate a patient-centered oncology payment reform model.

The study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, evaluated the influence of NSAIDs and statins on PSA levels in men with a high prostate cancer risk.

The molecule is being evaluated in crizotinib-resistant ALK-positive NSCLC patients. The results from the phase 1/2 trial with AP26113 were presented at the 2014 European Cancer Congress.

The study by Kaiser Permanente found that prescription practices were not much influenced by the decrease in fee-for-service payments for outpatient chemotherapy, due the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003.

The next phase of New Hampshire's plan to bring managed care to the state's Medicaid program will not go into effect on January 1, 2015, as planned, due in part to concerns about the ability to ensure smooth transitions for those with complex medical cases to receive uninterrupted care.

The Cigna-NCCN collaboration will benefit about 12.5 million members.

The study, conducted in Austria, evaluated the potency of the 9-valent vaccine in preventing the development of cervical precancer in women infected with HPV.

A study published in a supplement to the Journal of Women's Health looks to the widespread impact of newer screening technologies to improve outcomes.

The rising cost of prescription drugs, CMS initiative updates, and successes in home and community-based services for dual Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries were discussed at the America's Health Insurance Plans' National Conferences on Medicare and Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles Summit in Washington, DC.

Deaths from overdoses on heroin rose in 28 states with just over half the nation's population from 2010 to 2012, but deaths from overdoses on prescription opioid pain relievers fell slightly during that period.

Following Kadcyla, NICE has now rejected another drug from Roche: Gazyvaro for CLL, citing ambiguities in the company's filing and the high cost.

The study, published online in JAMA Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, found a significant increase in the rate of head and neck cancers in individuals carrying a BRCA mutation.

A review published in Neuro-Oncology provides insight into some of the molecules being developed to target IL13Rα2 in brain tumors.

Hepatitis C and the price of Sovaldi were, understandably, the main focus of aconversation on rising prescription drug prices at the America's Health Insurance Plans' National Conferences on Medicare and Medicaid, and Dual Eligibles Summit in Washington, DC.

As Texas health officials monitor 80 people for symptoms of the Ebola virus, the question arises: could this public health threat have avoided if the ER at Texas Presbyterian admitted the patient with the disease when it first had the chance? Was the patient's insurance status an issue, as some have suggested?