Clinical

What we're reading, June 23, 2016: Medicare's fund will be insolvent 2 years earlier than estimated last year; nearly 1 in 3 Medicare beneficiaries received an opioid prescription in 2015; House Republicans' health plan calls for greater use of value-based insurance design; and the Democrats urge the Department of Justice to block Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mergers.

Despite known mental health disparities on the basis of sexual orientation and nonbinary gender identification, researchers are not reporting sexual orientation and transgender identities of study subjects in psychotherapy outcome studies for anxiety and depression.

A scoping document explaining the review process to evaluate existing treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been released by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER).

At The Community Oncology Conference: Innovation in Cancer Care, oncologists discussed how their practices are coping with the transition toward quality- and value-based reimbursement.

Representatives from 3 clinics that successfully participated in the accreditation process for an Oncology Medical Home, participated on a panel at The Community Oncology Conference: Innovation in Cancer Care.

What we're reading, June 21, 2016: potential Zika virus vaccine to be tested in humans; California regulator approved the potential merger between Aetna and Humana; and 5 states will be the testing ground for a new Medicare initiative to reduce fraud.

A study assessed the reliability of a 12-gene Recurrence Score test to reveal the natural course of recurrence among Japanese patients with stage II and III colon cancer who have undergone surgery but not received any adjuvant chemotherapy.

If the announcement by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis holds true, biosimilars that the company plans to launch over the next 4 years could create a significant dent in the sales of 5 blockbuster molecules in the oncology and immunology space.

Improving the healthcare services that an organization provides can be challenging unless one gathers information on the service, collates it, improves on it, and implements the changes in the field. A panel of experts invited by Evidence-Based Oncology discussed processes that help identify the most valuable metrics and the importance of making them relevant for use in the clinic.

What we're reading, June 20, 2016: employers are cutting back on wellness benefits; new apps and websites provide birth control prescriptions to women; and Novartis pledges to triple the number of biosimilar drugs on the market by 2020.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, chief of Division of Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, discusses side effects seen with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors as well as the recent USPSTF screening recommendations for breast cancer.

Researchers at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that increases in unemployment in California during the Great Recession were associated with an increased risk for weight gain among 1.7 million public school children in the state.

The healthcare ecosystem can be a very complex place, and it’s important to remember that a patient sits at the center, explained David M. Cordani, president and CEO of Cigna Corp., during a general session on the second day of America’s Health Insurance Plans’ Institute & Expo.

HHS recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Cuba’s Public Ministry of Health on June 13, marking a historic moment for both countries since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in 2015.

This week, the top stories in managed care included study results presented at the 76th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association from the SWITCH and LEADER trials, a recommendation for a smarter way to screen for prostate cancer, and researchers found physicians underutilize medications to treat opioid addiction.

Growing antibiotic resistance is a significant global problem. But steps are being taken to apply brakes on the rise of "superbugs."

Advances in cancer treatment provide more options for patients but add complexity to treatment decisions. HealthHelp’s Integrative Oncology program coordinates care to maximize efficiency and ensure optimal outcomes for cancer patients.

What we're reading, June 17, 2016: California's insurance commissioner comes out in opposition of the merger between Anthem and Cigna; local governments push for drug makers to pay for drug take-back programs; and the CDC releases numbers of Zika-related birth defects in the United States.

The new guideline, similar to the previous version, recommends screening for CRC for those 50 to 75 years of age and leaves the decision for screening in those 76 to 85 years of age on the individual. However, for the 50 to 75 age group, the USPSTF leaves the choice of the test on the individual, which is a departure from the previous guideline.

Black women with BRCA gene mutations are far less likely to receive preventive surgery than white or Hispanic women with the BRCA gene mutation.

According to research published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, immunotherapy right after chemotherapy can piggy back on the immune modifications caused by the chemotherapy, to improve response to treatment in ovarian cancer.

What we're reading, June 15, 2016: opioids also linked to heart-related deaths and fatalities other than overdoses; judge overrules Federal Trade Commission's efforts to block merger of Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem in Illinois; and using social media to monitor patients outside of the healthcare setting.

A collaborative effort by urologists and public health specialists from various healthcare systems around the country has found that PSA levels measured in midlife (45 to 59 years of age) are a strong predictor of future lethal prostate cancer.

A new study, published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, has found that chemotherapy administered in patients with stage I disease, following a complete resection, can have a significant impact on their median 5-year overall survival.

While there are FDA-approved medications proven to help curb opioid addiction, not many physicians are taking full advantage of it.