The Top Articles for 2019 in the Evidence-Based Series

The rise of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and the increased role of genetic testing in cancer care are reflected in the most-read online articles in the Evidence-Based series, sister journals of The American Journal of Managed Care®. Both Evidence-Based Oncology™ and Evidence-Based Diabetes Management™ cover the intersection of managed care and payer decision-making within their disease areas, bringing together different stakeholder viewpoints.

Tie for 5. Continuous Glucose Monitoring: An Emerging Standard of Care. In a special issue of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management™ (EBDM) in March on diabetes technology, John B. Welsh, MD, PhD; and Roy Thomas, PharmD, discuss the evolution in accuracy and convenience of CGM systems, noting that the most recent changes have brought systems that allow real-time data to be shared and remotely monitored, with enough stability that periodic calibrations are no longer required. This article focuses more on the technical capabilities of modern CGM systems.

For the article, read here.

Tie for 5. The Impact of Germline Testing for Hereditary Cancer Postdiagnosis.

Kelly Owens, PhD; Lisa Schlager; and Piri L. Welcsh, PhD, of the group FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) led our special issue of Evidence-Based Oncology™ (EBO) in August on hereditary cancers. The authors review national guidelines for genetic testing and the status of reimbursement across a variety of tumors, including breast, ovarian, colon, and prostate. The authors discuss the implications of reimbursement both for genetic testing that would allow prophylactic surgery as well as post-diagnostic testing that guides treatment decisions.

For the article, read here.

4. FreeStyle Libre CGM Sees Rising Use With Pharmacy Chain Distribution. Another selection from the March issue of EBDM, this article discusses Abbott’s decision to make its lower-priced FreeStyle Libre CGM available through a different distribution channel, a move that was copied by competitors and helped fuel sales that jumped 63% year-over-year for the third quarter of 2019. The arrival of the “flash” CGM in the United States helped change the landscape in diabetes technology (see Number 2).

For the article, read here.

3. Two-Sided Risk in the Oncology Care Model

In this article from the June issue of EBO, Associate Editor Kashyap Patel, MD, and co-authors from Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates discuss the process that went into deciding whether to pursue 2-sided risk under the Oncology Care Model (OCM). CMS required participating practices to go this route in 2020 or drop out of the model. Part of the discussion concerned whether to work with insurance providers to assume some of the risk, but many OCM practices chose not to go this route because it is unclear how to price such a product.

For the article, read here.

2. A New Era: Increasing Continuous Glucose Monitoring Use in Type 2 Diabetes. Another strong finisher from the March technology issue in EBDM, this article by Tejaswi Kompala, MD, and Aaron Neinstein, MD, FAMIA, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses the “convergence of several healthcare megatrends” that will lead to CGM use becoming commonplace, including improvements in the technology, reduction in its size and cost, the ability to upload data to the cloud, the availability of digital coaching tools, and the shift toward value-based care.

For the article, read here.

1. Is Immunotherapy the Future of Glioblastoma Treatment? This article from the February issue of EBO asked whether immunotherapy could finally offer hope for one of the most frustrating of all cancers: the brain cancer whose early symptoms are non-specific before it becomes aggressive and deadly. As 2019 drew to a close, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported in Nature Medicine on the identification of immune macrophages that have stymied treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, paving the way for a possible future target and a combination regimen that might include both anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 therapies.

For the article, read here.