AJMC® in the Press, April 20, 2018

Managed Healthcare Executive’s article on social determinants of health focused on a study published in The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). The study, “A Health Plan’s Investigation of Healthy Days and Chronic Conditions,” used administrative claims to demonstrate a relationship between Healthy Days, the CDC’s quality of life instrument, and chronic conditions, related healthcare quality measures, utilization, and costs. Researchers found that patients with chronic conditions reported higher mean physically and mentally unhealthy days than the population average, and that patients who were compliant with certain quality measures related to chronic conditions reported fewer unhealthy days after statistical adjustment.

AJMC^®’s latest podcast episode was included in the National Pharmaceutical Council’s Thursday CER Daily Newsfeed. During the episode, “Examining Consumer Cost Sharing and a Precision Benefit Design With Dr Mark Fendrick,” AJMC^® co-editor-in-chief A. Mark Fendrick, MD, discusses how current policies being employed to limit spending can have serious consequences for patients, but a different benefit design approach could present an alternative strategy.

Also mentioned in the Thursday newsfeed are 2 articles from AJMC^®. One article, “COPD Study Finds Benefits, Risks in Comparison of Triple, Dual Therapies,” covered a study that found triple therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) resulted in a lower rate of moderate to severe exacerbations and a lower rate of hospitalizations but a higher incidence of pneumonia. The other article, “Report Finds Steady Increase in HSA-HDHP Enrollees,” covered a report detailing how the number of consumers enrolled in high-deductible plans with health savings accounts increased by 8% from 2016 to 2017.

An article in EHR Intelligence included a study published in the January 2018 Health Information Technology issue of AJMC^®, “Electronic Sharing of Diagnostic Information and Patient Outcomes.” The study evaluated the association between hospital sharing of electronic health record (EHR) diagnostic information and hospital quality using Hospital Compare scores. Results showed that hospital sharing of EHR data with providers within their system is associated with better patient mortality, while sharing data with providers outside their system is associated with worsened patient mortality.

Specialty Pharmacy Times, a sister publication of AJMC^®, included an article from AJMC^® in its coverage of genes involved in multiple myeloma. The article, “Identification of Genes Involved With MM Development Could Mean More Personalized Treatments,” identified 40 genes involved with the development of the disease, increasing the understanding of the complex genetics behind the disease, which is currently incurable, and potentially leading to the development of more personalized treatments.