Population Health

Hospitals struggle to respond adequately to the pandemic surge; enrollment is almost complete for Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidate trial; the CDC reports mixed results for COVID-19 mitigation behaviors.

Can a population health framework focused on a certain set of patients with chronic disease (ie, chronic kidney disease [CKD]) improve care in the primary care setting?

The use of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations in assessing chronic kidney disease (CKD) for Black patients may lead to underdiagnosis and undertreatment, according to a nephrologist speaking at Kidney Week.

2020 is the 25th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care® and the October’s issue of the journal features an interview with Dr Kavita Patel, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and a primary care physician.

Air pollution was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of hospital admissions for several neurological disorders, including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and other dementias.

Attendees at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Nexus 2020 meeting will hear a keynote from a surgeon who has become more visible over the past year and a half discussing what he says are “structural problems” behind the cost of US health care.

Health care organizations can help spur growth among physicians through incorporating key experiences, such as out-of-expertise skill building and cross-functional projects, in their physician leadership development programs.

The authors, from RxCrossroads by McKesson, discuss the impact of copay accumulator and maximizer programs.

A new national study is highlighting disparities in morbidity and barriers to care that face patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) living in in rural areas.

The US death toll is above average for the previous 5 months; childhood obesity is on the rise among children of color and low-income families; the debate on using e-cigarettes for smoking cessation.

Temporarily halting a trial to evaluate a vaccine means we are following the rules of safety, noted Maura Abbott, PhD, AOCNP, CPNP, RN, assistant professor of nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing.

Addressing gaps in testing and education within precision oncology can assist in improving access to patients of color and other underserved populations.

A House panel found pharmaceutical companies exponentially increased drug prices to boost profits; CDC data show an increase in alcohol-related deaths, especially among women; 4 million more Americans enroll in Medicaid.

The authors detail how population health management enables health systems to promote public health, strengthen health system resiliency, and support financial recovery during and beyond coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The study is part of Moderna’s larger trial to find a vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019, which puts older adults, who have weaker immune responses, at a higher risk of more severe illness and death.

HHS said it will send 100 million rapid COVID-19 tests to states by year’s end; CDC says teens twice as likely to get coronavirus infection than young children; several private health insurers to stop waiving telehealth copays.

The announcement comes just 6 weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Texas v Azar, upon which the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—which counts among its many provisions protection for patients with preexisting conditions—hinges, and which the administration is trying to get overturned.

Vaccine safety and effectiveness are patients’ biggest concerns about a potential coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, says Maura Abbott, PhD, AOCNP, CPNP, RN, assistant professor of nursing at the Columbia University School of Nursing.

The authors used health care claims and survey data to identify a strategy that might promote life satisfaction while advancing equity in an insured population.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the journal, each issue in 2020 will include a special feature: an interview with a thought leader in the world of health care and medicine. The September issue features a conversation with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

Transitioning from population to precision health care, as well as eschewing old health care models of the past linked with misuse and excess cost, can assist in evolving the current US health care delivery system.

Nineteen bioethicists proposed a 3-phase plan for equitable distribution of a vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, we talk with Michael N. Abrams, a cofounder and managing partner of Numerof & Associates, about the fifth annual report on the state of population health.

Preliminary data find Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine effective in older adults; FDA authorizes use of $5 COVID-19 rapid test; the DOJ asks for nursing home data from 4 blue states.

Two days after the CDC changed its guidance on who should get tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), HHS said the move was not politically motivated.

Until a vaccine is available, antibody tests may offer the best way to assess risk prevalence and community spread of COVID-19.

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke recently with The American Journal of Managed Care®. During the interview, we asked about health burdens that disproportionately affect Black and other multiracial US communities.

In this episode of Managed Care Cast, we share a little bit of our forthcoming interview with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, which will appear in the September issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

A move by HHS to allow pharmacists to give childhood vaccinations draws criticism from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Through the partnership between Innovaccer and Emtiro Health, data utilization will work to delineate and address social aspects known to affect the health of populations nationwide, said Kelly Garrison, CEO at Emtiro Health, and Paul Grundy, MD, chief transformation officer at Innovaccer.