Start-Ups Are Helping Consumers Make Better Healthcare Purchases
January 17th 2015For years, one prescription to healthcare woes in the United States has been to shift costs to consumers, on the theory that this will cause them to make more cost-effective decisions. As this experiment plays out in real life, however, a different reality is unfolding.
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Is California's Move to Limit UnitedHealth Access Fair to Consumers?
January 16th 2015Covered California's leader says its decision is only fair to those insurers who took on the risk of a brand new marketplace in 2014. But the state's insurance commissioner says limiting choices is unfair to consumers.
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Study Indicates Improved Survival in CRC Despite Lower Surgery Rates
January 16th 2015The research, published in JAMA Surgery, analyzed data collected from NCI's SEER database, between 1988 till 2010, on stage 4 CRC patients who had surgery or not for primary tumor resection. Survival data on these patients was then analyzed and associated with their surgical status.
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Spanish Team Identifies Gene Variant Responsible for Susceptibility to Peripheral Neuropathy
January 15th 2015The authors of the research say that this information could be especially valuable for the Spanish population: "Even though these variants are rare or not frequent in the population, their frequency is greater in Spain than in other countries."
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Kaiser Study Suggests Need for Managed Care Solutions as Medicare Beneficiaries Age
January 15th 2015The aging US population means that Medicare is taking care of more older, sicker people for longer periods of time. Population trends suggest this phenomenon will only increase, unless drastic management and healthcare delivery solutions are found.
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Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Having Less Surgery, Yet Survival Rates Improving
January 15th 2015With the dawn of the modern era of new chemotherapeutic and biologic agents available for managing their disease, patients with metastatic colorectal cancer are undergoing less surgery for the removal of their primary tumors.
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Trinity Health, Heritage Provider Network Form Population Health Joint Venture
January 14th 2015Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health and Marina del Rey, California-based Heritage Provider Network announced an agreement to form a population health joint venture, called Trinity Health Partners.
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Joslin Diabetes Center Earns NCQA's Highest Level of National Recognition for Quality Care
January 14th 2015The NCQA rating was awarded for Joslin's responsiveness to patients and medical colleagues, cooperation and integration with other healthcare groups, and dedication to improvement. Joslin and AJMC will present "Patient-Centered Diabetes Care 2015" in Boston April 16-17, 2015.
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Cancer Treatments the Next Big Area for Cost Saving Opportunities
January 14th 2015Involving the pharmacy benefits manager earlier in the decision-making process could lead to cost savings on cancer treatments, Express Scripts Chief Executive Officer George Paz said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California.
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Are Cigarette Taxes a Way to Help Alabama Ease the Transition to Medicaid Managed Care?
January 14th 2015Hospitals have endorsed the movement toward Regional Care Organizations (RCOs), which would guide the transition away from fee-for-service. But a looming budget gap is an immediate concern, while Alabama's Medicaid costs keep climbing.
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Express Scripts Wants Early Discussions to Help Lower Treatment Costs
January 14th 2015After their decision to include Abbvie's triple combination for hepatitis C on their formulary, over Gilead's more expensive regimens, Express Scripts indicated at the J. P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that they'll continue the stance of choosing treatments that are equally effective but save costs, especially in cancer.
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"Choose Wisely" in Rectal Cancer a Retrospective Study Indicates
January 13th 2015The retrospective analysis of 145 patients with stage 2-3 rectal cancer found that the "wait and watch" approach, instead of surgery, in patients treated with chemotherapy might work just as well when measuring survival as an outcome.
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Retail Clinics Addressing Physician Shortages, Cost Concerns Among Consumers
January 13th 2015The increasing popularity of retail clinics to provide basic care is bring driven by many factors, including consumer interest in transparency, cost, and convenience. Malls are beneficiaries of the shift.
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Pharma Giants to Collaborate on Immuno-oncology Regimens
January 13th 2015Merck and Eli Lilly have entered an agreement to collaborate on clinical trials to evaluate the former's recently approved PD-1 inhibitor, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with Lilly's oncology agents in several clinical trials targeting multiple tumor types.
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Supreme Court Rejects New Challenge to Obamacare Law
January 13th 2015The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up another broad challenge to President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, this time from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the Alliance for Natural Health USA.
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