Health System

President Joe Biden will provide an update today on his administration’s response to the Omicron COVID-19 variant; marked rise in lung transplants for patients with COVID-19 sparks ethical questions; an independent panel of experts will advise FDA tomorrow on the use of Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral pill.

Kimberly Westrich, MA, vice president of health services research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, discusses the shift to a value-based system from a fee-for-service one and how the health care system can incentivize high-value care.

Robert J. Hopkin, MD, clinical geneticist, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, details various known and understudied health-related quality-of-life factors in patients with Fabry disease.

Improving clinical care is only one element of the 360-degree, holistic treatment that is necessary to achieve patient equity, not equality, in patients with chronic kidney disease. Biology, lifestyle, and socioeconomic status are 3 areas in which inequities often have a particularly negative impact on a carefully constructed care plan.

Daniel Wolfson, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the ABIM Foundation, speaks on factors influencing mistrust of the health care system and efforts to improve quality care.

Discussions regarding health equity and access to care have long been implicated in breast cancer. Here, key opinion leaders discuss the latest progress in clinical trial access, digital therapeutics, and other efforts that aim to ameliorate these care gaps.

Low- and middle-income countries that hosted completed COVID-19 vaccine trials received disproportionately fewer doses than high-income counterparts; mental health apps indicated to increase uptake in underserved men; CDC report finds notable stillbirth risk in pregnant women with COVID-19.

The announcement of a "strategic refresh" for payment models under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation offered no details on what practices should expect when the Oncology Care Model (OCM) expires in 2022.

Preventing addiction is key to ending the opioid epidemic—2020 alone saw more than 93,000 overdose deaths—as are expanding access to treatment, promoting recovery, and building a multifaceted strategy that incorporates nonopioid alternative and their coverage by providers. Although appropriate in certain situations, opioids are not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Although acute promyelocytic leukemia is highly treatable in early stages, the medication needed stop hematologic emergencies, all-trans retinoic acid, is often not available, a new study says.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

Investigators drew insights about consumers’ health care shopping behavior by analyzing use of an online price transparency tool.

To guide its growth and its forays into home-based care, SCAN Group recently announced a Diversification Advisory Council, a group of 6 leaders from inside and outside health care with expertise in health care technology, reimbursement, and consumer engagement.

For select patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, an academic urban hospital implemented an observation pathway that incorporated mobile health technology, reducing hospital length of stay by more than 2 days.

Researchers have found a second reported case of an immune system potentially curing a person of HIV; US premature birth rates are on the rise in minority groups; most Americans say mental health professionals should be first responders to mental health and suicide situations.

Adriaan Voors, MD, professor of cardiology and director of the Heart Failure Clinic, University Medical Center Groningen, the Netherlands, addresses the lack of prescribing for sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors during hospitalization for acute heart failure by highlighting their benefits and that they are part of guideline-directed treatment.

For trastuzumab and bevacizumab, biosimilars now represent a high share of administrations, but payer policies still hinder uptake of these products, the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) reports.

Appeals court affirms decision to place a hold on the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large employers; rising Medicare premiums linked with controversial Alzheimer drug; 3 states expand COVID-19 booster shot eligibility to all adults.

Emergency department utilization for nonemergent ophthalmic conditions is on the rise in the United States, but presentation types vary significantly based on patient demographics, according to 2 posters presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) 2021 meeting.

Uveitic macular edema is common in patients with noninfectious uveitis, and its significant burden on patients and payers warrants more specific treatment guidelines to minimize quality-of-life and economic effects.

Leslie Kantor, PhD, MPH, chair and professor of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, discusses the key messages that people need to hear about the continued importance of the flu vaccine, even if they have been immunized for COVID-19.

This letter describes the experience of long-stay patients and provides a perspective of the need for more studies on outliers’ impact on health care.

Recent research from the United Kingdom sought to understand more about factors that may impact the location of death for patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS).

Theresa Juday, RPh, director, Specialty Product Development, CVS Health, speaks about the barriers affecting uptake of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as a first-line treatment for insomnia.

Michael E. Chernew, PhD, co-editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Managed Care®, discussed cost and sustainability issues specific to commercial insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid at the National Alliance 2021 Annual Forum held in a hybrid format in Washington, DC.

Adults with atopic dermatitis were shown to be at lower risk of developing asthma if they were vaccinated against influenza, particularly those who adhered to yearly shots.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Abi Sundaramoorthy, MD, MBA, executive vice president of clinical enterprise at Somatus, on fragmented care in chronic kidney disease, its disproportionate impact on minority communities, and the potential of value-based arrangements to address disparities and promote preventive, effective care.

Pfizer and BioNTech expect to seek emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 booster vaccine in all adults 18 years and older; the Biden administration urges appeals court to not block employer vaccine mandate; nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe or are unsure of false COVID-19 information.

The United States lifts travel restrictions for numerous countries, requiring proof of vaccination and in some cases negative COVID-19 tests; discrimination of any kind was associated with greater risk of mental health problems in young people; a controversial Alzheimer disease drug faces several uptake issues.

Richard Wasserman, MD, PhD, an allergist and immunologist with Allergy Partners of North Texas, an early adopter of food allergy oral immunotherapy (OIT), discusses how attitudes have changed around the practice.