Policy

A business case is made for medical centers to offer high-quality clinical training experiences to recruit graduating health professionals.

A House of Representatives subcommittee heard from stakeholders about the impact of the rising cost of insulin.

Administration of immuno-oncology therapy for cancer diagnoses in the community clinic setting is associated with lower costs compared with administration in a hospital-based clinic setting.

Between 2012 and 2016, insulin costs for patients nearly doubled while utilization remained flat; the pharmaceutical industry's lead lobbying group spent a record amount in 2018; and alcohol-associated liver disease has surpassed hepatitis C as the top cause of liver transplants.

With a number of difference payment programs being tested, it’s important to have a sophisticated evaluation of these programs to really understand their impact on quality and cost, said Allison Brennan, MPP, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of ACOs.

Publicly reported Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization (ACO) data can be analyzed to identify cost and medication-related quality performance improvement opportunities to support pharmacist integration into ACO population health services.

The mean 24-week cost per participant was $5416 for extended-release injectable naltrexone (57% detoxification, 37% medication, 6% provider/patient) and $4148 for buprenorphine-naloxone (64% detoxification, 12% medication, 24% provider/patient).