Laura is the vice president of content for The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) and all its brands, including The American Journal of Accountable Care®, Evidence-Based Oncology™, and The Center for Biosimilars®. She has been working on AJMC® since 2014 and has been with AJMC®’s parent company, MJH Life Sciences®, since 2011.
She has an MA in business and economic reporting from New York University. You can connect with Laura on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Missed Opportunity to Test Patients With Severe Mental Illness for HIV
January 21st 2017Despite being up to 15 times more likely to be HIV positive, people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression with psychosis aren’t much more likely than the general population to be tested for the virus.
Nearly Half of New Drugs Approved in 2016 Were Orphan Drugs
January 17th 2017Among the 9 new orphan drugs approved by the FDA in 2016 were 3 treatments for rare diseases that, so far, had no approved treatments: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, and severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease.
A Better Way to Cover High-Value Services
January 9th 2017Rising healthcare expenditures, leading to increased consumer cost sharing, is a top concern in healthcare that crosses party lines. In a new commentary in JAMA Internal Medicine, A. Mark Fendrick, MD, and Michael E. Chernew, PhD, co-editors-in-chief of The American Journal of Managed Care, highlighted the need for a “smarter” deductible.
5 Key Takeaways From CMS' Andy Slavitt
January 6th 2017As the team at CMS prepares to hand the reins over to the next administration, Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of CMS, took the time to speak with Mandi Bishop, MA, CEO of Aloha Health, in the latest podcast of Managed Care Cast about what he learned in his role and what the next administration should keep in mind.
The High Cost of Home Care for Children With Special Healthcare Needs
January 1st 2017Caring at home for children with special healthcare needs brings high costs to families. A study by researchers at the University of Southern California, Boston Children’s Hospital, and RAND Corp., placed the uncompensated medical cost at nearly $36 billion annually.
Identifying the Inability to Heal Lungs in COPD
December 29th 2016Although chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains a leading cause of death around the world, the reason for why patients with COPD lose the ability to repair damage to their lungs is poorly defined. However, researchers at the Helmholtz Zentrium München may now have an idea of why this happens.
5 Things About Repealing and Replacing the ACA
December 23rd 2016During the December Managed Care Cast hosted by Patricia Salber, the guest was Joe Antos, PhD, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, who discussed potential changes to healthcare and the realities of repeal and replace under President-elect Donald J. Trump’s administration.
CMS Announces Additional Mandatory Bundled Payment Models, ACO Track 1+
December 20th 2016CMS is moving full-steam ahead with the transition to value-based care. On Tuesday, the agency announced 3 new bundled payment models in cardiac care, an expansion on the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, and the highly anticipated new track in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Expert Insights: Most Popular Videos, Interviews, and Podcasts in 2016
December 20th 2016Along with the peer-review research, journal articles, and news coverage, The American Journal of Managed Careâ„¢ (AJMCâ„¢) has a robust multimedia component that brings together stakeholders from across the healthcare industry to discuss important topics in the world of managed care and delve deeper into topics.
Drug Price-Fixing Charges Result From Investigation of Generic Drug Industry
December 17th 2016Two former executives at a generic pharmaceutical company have been charged with being involved with price-fixing, bid-rigging, and customer allocation conspiracies. The charges are the first that have resulted from a 2-year investigation of the generic drug industry.
States With the Best Well-Being Among Older Adults
December 14th 2016In general, older adults (over the age of 55) in the United States tend to have a higher well-being compared with the broader adult population. Older Americans have better eating habits, fewer financial worries, and more community pride.
Opioid Guideline: Prescribing for Pain Management and Use in the Emergency Department
December 11th 2016The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic that has been responsible for a 200% increase in deaths due to overdose of heroin or an opioid pain reliever since 2000. Guidelines provide clinicians with ways to identify patients at risk of opioid use disorder and best practices of prescribing opioids.
Improving Health in Poor Communities by Providing Children With Hope
December 10th 2016During the keynote speech at the inaugural conference of The National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children's Zone, discussed the challenge of addressing health disparities in poor communities.
Improving Utilization of Tools to Care for Complex Patients
December 9th 2016Creating effective interventions to care for complex populations and making them available is only half the battle. That was the lesson gleaned from a workshop session at The National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs’ Putting Care at the Center conference, held December 7-9 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Little Patient Benefit to Using G-CSF to Prevent Neutropenia
November 21st 2016There is little patient benefit to using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to help white blood cell growth and reduce the risk of infection in women with breast cancer, according to a study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology.