Clinical

A nomogram could help to predict patients at risk of Grade 4 neutropenia during treatment, according to a study published in Clinical Genitourinary Cancer.

What we're reading, July 8, 2016: Aetna will meet with the Department of Justice to discuss Humana purchase; Pfizer will disclose serious risk of addiction when marketing opioids; and US insurers' spending on prescription drugs nearly quadrupled from 2003 to 2014.

The FDA has asked Juno Therapeutics to halt the phase 2 clinical trial of JCAR015 in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the ROCKET trial.

What we're reading, July 7, 2016: the House passed legislation to overhaul mental health care; the NFL is accused of being quick to hand out powerful painkillers; and one student outlines 5 ways to reform medical schools.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has published a paper that shares the various innovative approaches developed by the society for guideline development and implementation.

A federal appeals court has overturned a previous ruling and decided that biosimilar manufacturers must provide the innovator company a 180-day notice only after receiving FDA-approval for its biosimilar product.

What we're reading, July 6, 2016: the Department of Veterans Affairs has made progress, but still has a long way to go; court upholds 6-month delay for biosimilars; and Apple promotes organ donation with iPhone app.

The approval was based on the results of the phase 3 ENDEAVOR study.

Researchers from the Duke Cancer Institute have discovered that mutations in the BRCA1 gene can dramatically increase the probability of a woman developing serous or serous-like endometrial carcinoma.

If dementia goes undiagnosed, people with dementia run the risk of unsafe activities such as driving, cooking, and managing finances and medication.

After reviewing the evidence for all approved hepatitis C virus treatments, Advera Health has determined that Gilead Sciences’ newly approved, pan-genomic Epclusa has a similar safety profile as Sovaldi, Harvoni, Daklinza, and Viekira Pak.

A majority of people surveyed in California and Hawaii supported physician-assisted death. There was even a majority of support among respondents who said religion or spirituality was very important to them.

What we're reading, June 30, 2016: concerns over Anthem-Cigna deal may mean the government moves to block the merger; why the price of childhood vaccines is actually too low; and saturated fats are not as bad as once thought.

What we're reading, July 4, 2016: a hospital is offering free housing to get super-utilizers out of the emergency room; campaigns for patients to gain access to stem cell treatments are gaining momentum; and why hospital/physician integration and consolidation probably won't lower costs.

In the last 5 years urgent care has seen a rise in popularity. Here are 5 facts about urgent care clinics.

What we're reading, June 30, 2016: one doctor makes the case for the FDA moving away from a simple approval/no approval system; Massachusetts and Gilead come to an agreement over hepatitis C drug rebates; and Georgia considers Medicaid expansion.

Jennifer Malin, MD, staff vice president, Clinical Strategy, Anthem, said that while there are a lot of quality measures being developed by several organizations, care gaps persist.

When comparing a private practice with a larger healthcare system, Linda Bosserman, MD, assistant clinical professor and staff physician, City of Hope, said that the challenges can run across the system.

Jennifer Malin, MD, staff vice president, Clinical Strategy, Anthem, spoke about her health plan’s requirements on quality measures and whether they resonate what CMS requires providers to submit.

Measuring quality is important in determining whether patients are getting the appropriate care they need, and according to Linda Bosserman, MD, assistant clinical professor and staff physician, City of Hope, quality measures should cater to the patient’s unique needs.

From a health plan perspective, the key to effectively using electronic health records, or EHRs, is to leverage the infrastructure in a manner that takes the burden away from the physician and his or her practice, said Jennifer Malin, MD, staff vice president, Clinical Strategy, Anthem.