AJMC® in the Press, December 1, 2017

An article in Life Science Daily focused on the link between the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and an increase in preventive heart health measures, citing a study published in the November 2017 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®). The study, “Changes in Cardiovascular Care Provision After the Affordable Care Act,” concluded that the enactment of the ACA was followed by reduced preventive treatment costs and an increase in cardiovascular health screenings.

An article in Cardiovascular Business also cited the findings of “Changes in Cardiovascular Care Provision After the Affordable Care Act.” The article highlighted the study’s discovery that while physicians have increased preventive screenings, gender gaps remain. The study reinforced the concern that women receive poorer quality cardiovascular care.

Fierce Healthcare focused on a study published in the November 2017 issue of AJMC^® in its article on antibiotic stewardship and computer alerts. The study, “Improving Antibiotic Stewardship: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Trial,” had several takeaway points: clinical decision support (CDS) integrated in an electronic health record can discourage inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, provider education is unlikely to have a sustained effect on antibiotic prescribing, and the effectiveness of education and CDS will vary based on differences among locations.

The American Medical Group Association recently suggested that CMS include Medicare Advantage (MA) models as Advanced Alternative Payment Models, reported RevCycle Intelligence. To support this suggestion, the article discussed the study “Value-Based Contracting Innovated Medicare Advantage Healthcare Delivery and Improved Survival,” published in AJMC^® in January 2017. The study found that value-based contracting can drive utilization patterns and improve clinical outcomes among chronically ill, elderly MA members.

A study published in AJMC^® was featured in an article in Summit Daily. The study, “Emergency Department Visits for Nonurgent Conditions: Systematic Literature Review,” determined that a large portion of all emergency department visits in the US are for nonurgent conditions, which may lead to excessive healthcare spending, unnecessary testing and treatment, and weaker patient—primary care provider relationships.

The National Pharmaceutical Council’s Daily CER Newsfeed included a video interview with Nat Turner, co-founder and CEO of Flatiron Health, that was featured on the AJMC^® website. During the interview, Turner discussed the challenges of using real-world data in clinical trials as the FDA begins to utilize them more frequently.