Health System

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

A popular misconception of palliative care is that it only has importance toward making patients comfortable at the end of their lives, noted a palliative care physician on the first day of the 2021 Community Oncology Conference, presented by the Community Oncology Alliance.

Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses what influence the new administration may have on payment reform in oncology and issues regarding the 340B drug pricing program.

Officials urge the Biden administration to track COVID-19 deaths among health care workers; the B.1.1.7 variant is now the dominant strain in the United States; pandemic results in steep declines in STD testing.

Prioritization, interunit collaboration, esprit de corps, and health workers’ adaptability are key factors in providing a coherent response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology, and chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology, discusses what influence COVID-19 will have on discussions at the Community Oncology Conference 2021, as well as takeaways he hopes audience members and participants gain from the conference.

Adjunct nutritional therapies may be a simple way to improve the prognosis for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) or chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension who are hospitalized.

A recently launched campaign by Jazz Pharmaceuticals and the Hypersomnia Foundation spotlights a lack of knowledge on idiopathic hypersomnia, as well as how care teams can optimally screen for symptoms and care for patients with the debilitating sleep disorder.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

Phase 3 data show the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 6 months after the second dose; the USDA will not move forward with a plan to cut food stamps; data reveal spike in drug overdose deaths during pandemic.

A survey of employer and purchaser members of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions found that over half expect a transition to a more stabilized business environment by the third quarter of this year, as well as increased benefit offerings on mental health access and virtual care delivery.

Early on in the pandemic, Cotiviti developed a COVID-19 tracker map that accurately predicts where in the United States new COVID-19 outbreaks would occur. Nicole Neumarker, of Cotiviti, provides insight into what impact this technology could have in the future.

The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were shown to be 90% effective in preventing infection in a real-world setting; Biden administration urges states to pause reopening plans amid signs of COVID-19 surge; a lawsuit seeks to end the requirement that preventive services be provided free of charge to Americans.

Investing further in the development of health care staff in often overlooked aspects, such as digital technology and business acumen, can lead to incremental differences in engagement and productivity.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

The bipartisan bill spells out 5 step therapy exemptions for patients by amending the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

As the first quarter of 2021 ends, patients choosing to keep using secukinumab may be offered an inducement to switch to another biologic, ixekizumab.

Hinge Health’s State of MSK Report 2021 found that although patient outcomes remained stagnant in the past decade, cost for musculoskeletal care doubled with services provided in emergency rooms and outpatient/inpatient facilities associated with significantly increased spend.

How are researchers leveraging what is currently known about the pathogenesis and progression of Parkinson disease into the development of potential novel therapies, and what role should neurologists and patients play in addressing this neurodegenerative condition?

The study was originally undertaken to convince MD Anderson’s providers that publishing survey results online would help their reputations.

Survey responses of 320 US hospitals highlight the dire consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on facilities and point to a future of ongoing financial and staffing challenges.

Among health care workers, disrupted sleep and daily burnout were associated with a greater risk of developing COVID-19, as well as having more severe symptoms and a longer recovery period.

How can health care systems talk about the issue of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy with their patients? On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Pat Salber, MD, MBA, of The Doctor Weighs In, interviews the developer of interactive, people-centered, multimedia, educational programs for Wolters Kluwer Health.

Patient data about emergency department use by this population is limited, the authors said.

Amid the pandemic, organizations utilizing a value-based care reimbursement model may be better positioned than those using a fee-for-service model to delineate high-risk patients and manage their care, particularly for long-term symptoms that may arise due to COVID-19.

Every week, The American Journal of Managed Care® recaps the top managed care news of the week, and you can now listen to it on our podcast, Managed Care Cast.

A survey released this month of US patients with blood cancers shows a somewhat surprising level of hesitancy about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, but because patients with cancer were not included in clinical trials, the situation for this population is somewhat nuanced.

Pharmacists from the Cleveland Clinic discuss the impact of payer dispensing requirements, known as white bagging and brown bagging, on oncology practices and on patients.

Xavier Becerra, California's attorney general, will become the next secretary of HHS after the Senate voted 50-49, split by party lines.

The study examined the cost to Medicare when patients with end-stage renal disease switched from their employer-based health insurance to Medicare between 2007 and 2017 before the end of the 30-month coordination period.