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Adherence is a very complex issue. Numerous theories have been developed and they must be integrated into any approach to solve our healthcare problems. Only Intelligent Engagement can incorporate a variety of these theories into a plecosystem of adherence technologies.

A study published in the Journal of Surgical Research has found that surgeons are focusing on life-enhancing procedures for late-stage cancer patients. In their follow-up on 22,000 late-stage cancer patients in the United States between 2006 and 2010, while the use of surgeries declined only slightly, doctors became more likely to restrict surgery to healthier patients.

According to Robert Pozen, non-resident senior fellow at Brookings, government healthcare plans were 17.5% higher cost than the average citizen's plan, while their employee contributions were 45% less than the average plan. If these patterns continue, many state and city healthcare plans will run up against the "Cadillac" tax in 2018, he predicts.

While offering incentives for participation in workplace wellness programs do increase participating, RAND researchers found that offering a comprehensive plan, as opposed to a limited one, is almost as effective at increasing employee uptake.

The diagnostic test, developed by Biodesix, Inc, will help guide treatment decisions in patients with advanced lung cancer.

The "digital phenotype," a catch-all term for the trail of relevant health data people leave behind in their interactions with the internet, social media, and technology, has largely untapped potential for the early detection of various conditions.

The database will allow consumers, healthcare providers, and product manufacturers to access information tracked on medical devices, with the end goal of improving patient safety, improving device postmarket surveillance, and facilitating medical device innovation.

If Amarin's lawsuit is successful, and FDA reverses its current stance, I believe that data and information will be exchanged more freely leading to an overall benefit to drug safety

The use of an electronic personal health record-based self-management system can improve patient engagement and reduce costly falls among older adults, according to the results of a new study in eGEMs.

While West Africa is on its way to be nearly Ebola-free, Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant director-general for Health Systems and Innovation with the World Health Organization says that 2 experimental Ebola vaccines being tested on volunteers may not yield sufficient data on efficacy.

Old myths die hard, and for years as hospitals continue to join forces in the name of efficiency, the refrain cited most often by individuals who steward their systems has not changed: "do the deal and everybody wins."

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The guidance comes after advocacy groups and members of Congress complained of widespread violations of the Affordable Care Act's requirement that all forms of birth control be covered without a co-payment, not just the low-cost methods. The action also responds to recent reports that payers have balked at requests for BRCA testing even when indicated.

A very small segment of the Medicaid-only population-those who are not also eligible for Medicare-accounted for almost half of expenditures for all Medicaid-only enrollees from 2009 to 2011, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that in addition to protecting against 80% of cervical cancers, the new Gardasil-9 has the potential to protect against nearly 19,000 other cancers diagnosed in the United States.

In his blog, a University of Chicago economist says that while non-adherence is a major source of waste in US healthcare-totaling approximately 2.3% of GDP-achieving the optimal level of adherence to treatments is more nuanced than strictly raising adherence rates.

Based on their analysis of a mail-in questionnaire, researchers in Canada found that parents who had their daughters vaccinated differed from those who did not do so in perceived susceptibility to the disease, benefits and barriers of the vaccine, and cues to action.

In this Health Affairs blog, experts provide examples of payment reform in the emergency department that'd move away from the traditional fee-for-service, while at the same time improving outcomes at a lower cost.

Carolinas HealthCare System monitors ICUs in 10 of its hospitals from a command center near Charlotte. The command center is staffed 24/7 with a rotating crew of 7 to 9 nurses and doctors who specialize in critical care.

Insurers are expecting broad adoption of wearables by their industry within the next 2 years, according to a report from Accenture.

February's report from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee called for an emphasis on plant-based diets and less red or processed meat. Protests from the meat industry followed, and the comment period was extended until Friday.

Medicare's new payment formula is set to begin in 2019. The problem is no one's agreed on standards for measuring quality or efficiency of patient care.

In collaborations with 14 cancer centers throughout the country, IBM will apply Watson Genomic Analytics, a cloud-based service, to implement evidence-based treatment decisions in oncology.

The White House is moving to address 2 of the most common consumer complaints about the sale of health insurance under the Affordable Care Act: that doctor directories are inaccurate, and that patients are hit with unexpected bills for costs not covered by insurance.

There's been a big increase in hepatitis C across central Appalachia, especially rural parts of the region, the CDC reported Thursday. That only stands to reason, because young people in that part of the country are injecting heroin and other opioids at epidemic rates.

A one-minute look at managed care news during the week of May 4, 2015, including global cancer drug spend, movements in telehealth, and changing behavior to reverse poor health.

The average per capita spending difference between people with and without diabetes was $10,310 from 2009 to 2013, according to a new report from the Health Care Cost Institute.

It's an incorrect, but convenient, shorthand to say that the Affordable Care Act establishes state-based health insurance markets. Actually, the markets are finer grained than that.

A year and a half ago, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla made headlines when he stated at a conference that in the next decade "data science and software will do more for medicine than all of the biological sciences together."

Overall, regular breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening was below target in 2013, according to a new report from the CDC. In fact, researchers found overall screening in these 3 areas showed no improvements from 2010 to 2013.