Pain Management

A disease management program at the University of Minnesota revealed only some targeted chronic diseases benefitted from the program while others were unaffected.

Steven D. Hickman, PsyD, associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Diego, invited a roomful of conference attendees to put down the notes, close their eyes, set an intention, and breathe, gaining an "awareness of the breath." His session, "Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Patients with Chronic or Life-Threatening Illness," highlighted techniques based on 2000-year-old Eastern philosophy that can help patients learn to respond to pain, not react to it.

Specialty drugs expected to account for 40% of total prescription spending by 2016, according to Catamaran Corporation.

A study just published in The American Journal of Managed Care examined how benefit design differences affected seniors who received prescription coverage through Medicare Advantage compared with a stand-alone Medicare drug plan. The review showed that integrating drug coverage with medical care resulted in fewer barriers to name-brand drugs, with lower copayments.

HHS issued an interpretive rule that requires drug companies to provide discounts on orphan drugs sold through a federal program just months after a judge struck down the government's previous version of the rule.

Changes to a hospice drug rule will reduce the types of medications that require prior authorization. Previous rules prohibited Medicare hospice patients from filling their Part D medications until they had confirmed that hospice providers did not cover them first.

This spring as the feds have been drawing up new rules for the program, a pitched battle has broken out between hospitals and drug manufacturers who say the program, known as 340B, is now bloated and badly regulated.

This study examines whether patients treated with specialty pharmaceuticals have improved outcomes compared with patients treated with conventional therapies, and evaluates costs associated with these treatments.

HHS is moving forward with its plan to allow certain hospitals to receive discounts on orphan drugs when they are used for non-orphan conditions despite a court ruling that said the agency did not have the authority to do so.

"Person-centered care" is the buzz phrase floating around the health care industry, and a Pacific Northwest-based giant insurer thinks it has hit the mark with a new palliative care program coming this summer.

Americans live in one of the most medically advanced societies in human history. But sometimes, there is no cure for what ails us.

An analysis examining Medicare data found that the number of elderly beneficiaries receiving narcotic painkillers and anti-anxiety medications drastically increased from 2007 to 2012.

Enrollees in some of the health law's most popular plans will face high cost-sharing requirements that the pharmaceutical industry says could keep patients from getting the drugs they need.

Sativex,a cannabinoid developed together by GW Pharmaceuticals and Otsuka, receives FDA's Fast Track status for advanced cancer pain.

Most people want to take medications as prescribed, even if they sometimes need a little help remembering. For them, an automated system that monitors drug taking and provides feedback after the fact may be more useful than one that nags people when it is time to take a pill, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say.

The proportion of available on-patent drugs covered in low copay tiers varied by insurance type, with the lowest proportion being in Medicare plans.

Shifting physician revenue from drug sales to cognitive services for mature pathways providers did not affect practice behavior in this payer-sponsored Oncology Medical Home.

Pharmacists and drug manufacturers are pushing the CMS for a one-year transition period before states attempt to implement a new formula mandated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that will significantly trim Medicaid reimbursement rates for generic drugs.

Christine Strahl, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, specialty pharmacy program manager, HealthPartners, says there are several new distribution channels in specialty pharmacy.

Ophthalmologists are among Medicare's highest paid specialists-a finding already drawing scrutiny from policymakers and watchdogs worried about waste and overuse.

Some health systems are moving beyond surgery in serving back pain patients.

Prescription records show that as use of opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin soared in the 2000s, so did the use of "benzos" such as Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan, as opioid users discovered tranquilizers could enhance "the high."

The Food and Drug Administration will get a 1% funding increase from President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal 2015 budget, a level some say is not enough to cover the agency's new responsibilities and the increasingly global nature of the products it regulates.

Doctors and other health providers wrote about 11 million fewer prescriptions for narcotic painkillers in 2013 than in 2012, but some experts expected a bigger drop-off given the brighter spotlight on the nation's opioid epidemic.

Session highlights from the Managed Markets Summit in Orlando, FL, February 25-27.

Laurie Wesolowicz, PharmD, director, pharmacy services clinical, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), says that clinical evidence and other factors can drive formulary decision-making. Evidence can influence the value and coverage recommendations for drugs covered under the pharmacy (formulary) and medical benefits.

Examining the financial impact that patient assistance programs and the 340B Drug Pricing Program have on improving medication cost.