AJMC® in the Press, February 1, 2019

A study published in The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) was highlighted in an article from mHealth Intelligence. The study, “A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Cardiology eConsults for Medicaid Patients,” found that a randomized trial of eConsults for cardiology referrals from primary care resulted in significant reductions in total cost of care compared with traditional fee-for-service consultations.

The National Pharmaceutical Council’s Wednesday CER Daily Newsfeed included an editorial published in the February 2019 issue of AJMC^®. The editorial, “The Drug Pricing Iceberg: More Than Meets the Eye,” argues that policies that reduce prices but do not lower consumers’ out-of-pocket costs will not address the main challenge facing most Americans. The editorial was also featured in a press release from the University of Michigan’s Center for Value-Based Insurance Design, which is directed by A. Mark Fendrick, MD, the editorial’s lead author and co-editor-in-chief of AJMC^®.

ADVANCE’s article on virtual visits focused on a study published in the January issue of AJMC^®, “Patient and Clinician Experience With Telehealth for Patient Follow-up Care,” which demonstrated that for established patients, virtual video visits can be used for effective follow-up and enhanced convenience when compared with traditional office visits.

An article from Mind Body Green on yoga cited the AJMC^® article “Restorative Yoga Better Than Stretching for Trimming Subcutaneous Fat in Overweight Women.” The article covered a session from the 73rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association on a study showing that restorative yoga practitioners lost significantly more subcutaneous fat over the initial 6 months of the study period and kept losing it during a maintenance period with less direct supervision.

OBR Oncology’s Monday newsfeed included an article from AJMC^®’s sister site, The Center for Biosimilars^® (CfB). The article, “More Research Finds Low Awareness of Biosimilars Among Oncology Providers,” covered a survey that found that while a majority of respondents said they were at least somewhat familiar with current developments in oncology biosimilars, analyses of open-ended definitions showed that just 1 respondent could fully define a biosimilar. A second newsfeed included the CfB article “Sales of Oncology Reference Products Far Outpace R&D Costs, Study Finds,” which covered a study that found some stakeholders have expressed skepticism about whether research and development costs are indeed in line with the prices that drug makers charge.