Press Releases

“Super-utilizers,” meaning patients with complex health issues and frequent hospital visits, are becoming a focus of care management programs in an effort to improve patient outcomes. A study published in The American Journal of Managed Care®, and featured on our next Managed Care Cast podcast, found that Medicare fee-for-service patients in four states who fit this category and were enrolled in a high-intensity care management program had 37 percent fewer unplanned hospital readmissions.

This award recognizes young professionals who are making strides in the field of managed care research.

A pharmacist-led intervention that targeted patients undergoing joint replacement surgery led to a significant reduction in post-surgical opioid use among hip replacement patients, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in The American Journal of Managed Care®.

Randomized controlled trials don’t capture real-world evidence regarding how patients will actually interact with, adhere to, or find value in a costly new medical therapy, and current value frameworks and assessments don’t include this “real world” element. In the current issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, authors offer guidance on closing the gap between real-world and clinical trial data when formulating value frameworks.

Study reveals the full impact of dementia on healthcare costs and highlights care management priorities for population health stakeholders.

Casting messages widely throughout an electronic health record instead of using more focused direct messaging in diabetes care leads to more hospital visits and higher medical costs, according to a study published in the current issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

What are the characteristics of physician practices that intended to join Medicare accountable care organizations in 2012? In the October issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, researchers probe 1398 practices to examine the different capabilities and experience levels needed to manage risk in these healthcare models.

A new population health care model, how team functioning affects the health of patients, the factors that contribute to patient complexity, and how multistakeholder partnerships can come together to improve care are highlighted in the September issue of The American Journal of Accountable Care®.

Significant investments are needed in new comprehensive data networks that connect and integrate clinical factors, social determinants of health, and genomic information from multiple health systems in order to improve care for high-need, high-cost patients, according to a commentary in The American Journal of Managed Care®. AJMC® interviewed one of the authors for additional details about this issue for a recent episode of Managed Care Cast, our podcast about managed care.

With the US population aging rapidly, payers, providers, and public policy makers are seeking ways to both improve quality of care and reduce rising costs. A new study in The American Journal of Managed Care® found that giving Medicare Advantage patients more frequent contact with their primary care doctors kept them healthier and cost 28 percent less than usual care.

As skilled nursing facilities handle more complex care, the need arises for physician input before sending patients to the hospital. Study findings reported this month in The American Journal of Managed Care® show that using telemedicine for this purpose can lead to fewer hospitalizations and savings for Medicare.

Healthcare savings foreseen with adoption of electronic health records have fallen short of expectations but adding clinical decision support tools could change that. A new study in The American Journal of Managed Care® shows how Cedars-Sinai Health System achieved better care and savings by following Choosing Wisely recommendations.

When physicians follow computer alerts embedded in electronic health records, their hospitalized patients experience fewer complications and lower costs, leave the hospital sooner and are less likely to be readmitted, according to a study of inpatient care.

An issue covering major clinical findings and managed care updates from the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology is now available from Evidence-Based Oncology™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

A special issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® answers questions asked by payers through studies that compare adherence and cost-effectiveness of drugs within a class.

Critics of healthcare consolidation have cited higher costs of chemotherapy administration as an example of how mergers drive up costs. A new study in The American Journal of Managed Care®finds that while drug administration costs in hospitals are higher, chemotherapy drug spending among Medicare patients is lower, driven by less frequent use of therapy.

Reed’s research includes work in health information technology and health care delivery; and their effects on clinical outcomes and consumer decision-making on insurance

From the role of data in treatment decisions to the use of apps in tracking patient responses, technology is now front-and-center in cancer care. A special issue of Evidence-Based Oncology™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®, explores the rise of point-of-care tools.

Clinical guidelines that direct care at Joslin Diabetes Center, the world-renowned institution for diabetes treatment, research, and education, are now published in Evidence-Based Diabetes Management™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®

If you heard of a drug with a 387 percent return on investment, wouldn’t you want in? That was the result of a voluntary program in Maine that provided proper meals to high-risk Medicare patients leaving the hospital. Managed Care Cast explores results that appear in the current issue ofThe American Journal of Managed Care®.

Featured experts to discuss practical experiences, challenges, and successes from within the Oncology Care Model.

What seems like a straightforward idea—screen current and former heavy smokers for lung cancer—proves more challenging in practice, according to findings from a demonstration project at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

Researchers from the University of Maryland at Baltimore tracked how quickly drugs in eight therapeutic classes made it onto formulary across hundreds of Medicare Part D plans over five years, and found that while plan differences mattered, drug characteristics mattered more in decisions.

Harvard healthcare economist Michael E. Chernew, PhD, who is co-editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Managed Care®, joins Managed Care Cast for a discussion of how the administration’s proposals draw attention to a fundamental challenge: the need to balance innovation with affordability in drug pricing.

The award recognizes the exceptional contributions of early-career managed care professionals.

Efforts to cut down on unnecessary trips to the emergency room can take many forms. A new study by Kaiser Permanente, appearing in The American Journal of Managed Care®, suggests that the best education tools may vary depending on the patient’s age.

The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) has been controversial since it began in 2013, with critics saying it unfairly penalizes facilities that serve patients with chronic health issues. A study in the current issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® finds that community factors also matter a lot in a very poor region: the Mississippi Delta.

Suzanne Delbanco is the executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform.

The current issue of Evidence-Based Oncology™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®, examines how new reimbursement models are making cancer care more patient-centered, but making those models sustainable is challenging.

Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer have markedly changed the outlook for those who survive the first four years after cancer diagnosis, according to a new study in The American Journal of Managed Care.® Long-term cancer survivors do as well as or better than the rest of the US population, researchers find.