Health System

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

This study evaluates the growth in electronic consultation use over the first 7 years after its implementation across the entire Veterans Health Administration system.

Investigators using real-world data found that patients receiving treatment from slow mist inhalers (SMIs) had fewer exacerbations and hospitals readmissions compared with patients using dry powder inhalers (DPIs).

The US Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, MD, and other officials urged for greater uptake of FDA-approved treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in an effort to slow the surge of cases requiring hospitalization. However, logistic, monetary, and efficacy concerns may have drastically limited the amount of biologic treatments actually administered to patients.

This retrospective cohort evaluation found that patients receiving electronic, compared with face-to-face, specialty consultation had significantly lower health care costs for at least 3 months.

The statement is aimed at drug companies, policymakers, pharmacy benefit managers, employers, and others, and calls to attention soaring insulin costs, which were the subject of several Congressional hearings in 2019.

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to drive significant change in health care delivery, physician leaders affiliated with the Council for Accountable Physician Practices have worked to increase investment in strategies to address disparities in care exacerbated by the pandemic, such as value-based care and telemedicine.

Direct access of primary care physicians to dermatologists via asynchronous teledermatology improves a health system’s ability to increase patient access to dermatologic care.

Among patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, fatigue and muscle weakness, as well as sleep difficulties, were shown to persist in more than 1 in 4 patients after 6 months.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the new chief financial officer of Strive Health, a value-based kidney care company that works with payers and providers to create an integrated care delivery system for chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We discuss the changes coming to nephrology practices, as well as new ways of looking at the whole patient to halt the slide to irreversible ESRD.

FDA accepts for priority review a Biologics License Application for V114, Merck's investigational 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine; bluebird bio will be split into 2 publicly traded drug companies; a new variant of coronavirus is reported in Japan.

The incoming Biden administration announces plans to rapidly release most available vaccine doses against coronavirus disease 2019; the Trump administration approves the first Medicaid block grant in Tennessee; pharmaceutical executives and trade groups condemn last week’s pro-Trump riots on Capitol Hill.

A recent study evaluated the content validity of patient-reported outcome instruments used in low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

TeleConnect introduces the concept of connecting primary care physicians and specialists by leveraging technology. Improving communication in a health care system betters patient care.

Addressing the social health needs of those ill with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a challenge for providers and health care systems. On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Bechara Choucair, MD, senior vice president and chief health officer for Kaiser Permanente, who discusses the organization's guide that walks clinicians through considerations to keep in mind when screening patients in order to improve health outcomes as well as reduce community transmission.

Despite limited resources to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, collaborative efforts among the government, health plans, and providers in Puerto Rico exemplify how care can be better optimized in communities in the United States impacted by disparities in health care services.

In recent clinical practice guidelines issued by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), authors established recommendations for the use of behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults.

An abstract from last month’s San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium identifies factors linked with longer-term controlled substance use after treatment of breast cancer with mastectomy plus breast reconstruction in women receiving opioids, benzodiazepines, and other sedative/hypnotics.

The top 5 most-read sleep stories of 2020 on AJMC.com spotlighted the role of sleep hygiene among children and adolescents, changes in sleeping habits amid the pandemic, and how a rare gene mutation may cause people to require less sleep to achieve wakefulness.

Researchers discuss recent insights on the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and atrial fibrillation (AF), particularly how proper SDB management can reduce the incidence, burden, and recurrence of AF.

Recent study findings highlight mixed results following use of this medication among Mississippi and Massachusetts Medicaid beneficiaries.

The top 5 most-read employer stories of 2020 on AJMC.com focused primarily on the role of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on several issues affecting the workplace, including adverse mental health outcomes, leave-related concerns, and the rise of virtual care.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommended zanubrutinib, approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma, as a first-line and second-line therapy for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL).

Congress passes legislation that will delay the start of the Radiation Oncology (RO) Advanced Payment Model; examining the newly identified variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); a study finds Hispanics and those without college degrees most subject to excess death during pandemic.

Four principal themes emerged in this study, describing why Latino/a and Black transgender women and men who have sex with men discontinued their preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV.

Kashyap Patel, MD, associate editor of Evidence-Based Oncology, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care, will serve a 1-year term beginning in January.

Stark realities exposed by the pandemic have led some to advocate for redirecting resources to have the most impact on vulnerable populations.

The authors wrote that in states that expanded Medicaid health insurance coverage in 2014, there was an increase of early-stage colon cancer diagnoses compared with states that did not implement expansion.