Denying Access to Big Cancer Centers May Undermine Narrow Networks
April 7th 2014Patient access to some of the nation's best-known cancer-care centers could become a flashpoint in the simmering controversy surrounding the narrow networks being constructed by some insurers and healthcare providers.
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CMS's Proposed Cut for Managed Care Leads to Flurry of Comments on Both Sides
April 4th 2014With 2015 Medicare Advantage payment rates and policy changes pending, some lawmakers and associations are urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to stick to the cut it proposed while others are calling for rates not to drop.
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ASCO Launches 'Value' in Cancer Care Initiative
April 4th 2014The ASCO task force has identified 3 goals for its strategic value initiative. First is that oncologists will have the skills and tools needed to evaluate the relative value of interventions, and will use these when discussing treatment options with their patients. Second is to have information readily accessible to help patients select high-value treatment that meets their individual needs. Third is to have an algorithm that can be used by those responsible for covering the costs of cancer care to define and assess the value of treatment options.
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A Novel Diagnostic Marker for Early Detection of Lung Cancer
April 3rd 2014DNA repair is a prime mechanism for preventing DNA damage, mutation, and cancers. Adopting a functional approach, we examined the association with lung cancer risk of an integrated DNA repair score, measured by a panel of three enzymatic DNA repair activities in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
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A New Approach to Prevent Harmful Side-Effects of Radioisotopes
April 3rd 2014Researchers discovered that microscopic "bubbles" are safe and effective storage lockers for harmful isotopes that emit ionizing radiation for treating tumors. The findings can benefit patient health and advance radiation therapy used to treat cancer and other diseases.
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Pfizer's Breast Cancer Blockbuster to be Unveiled at AACR?
April 3rd 2014In February, Pfizer announced encouraging results for palbociclib with statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) for women with a certain type of advance breast cancer in a mid-stage, or phase III, study.
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Aspirin With Chemotherapy Could Improve Survival in a Cohort of Stage III Colon Cancer Patients
April 2nd 2014Recent research has raised the possibility that low-dose aspirin could add extra years to the lives of colon cancer patients. Now, a new study suggests that only certain patients may gain a survival benefit by taking aspirin after diagnosis.
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HIT is Imperative to Health System Survival
April 1st 2014Big data, electronic health records, online health insurance portals-countless technology innovations are emerging, but how important are they for health leaders to adopt? According to analysts at Forrester Research, a global research and advisory firm, it's not only extremely imperative, but a matter of organizational survival.
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