Health System

Patients with multiple sclerosis have high rates of urinary and kidney infections, inpatient hospitalizations, and outpatient hospital claims, according to recent results presented at the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis annual meeting.

A panel of experts provided consumer insights into value-based insurance design (VBID) and how the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed consumer behaviors in a way that VBID may be able to address as the country emerges from the pandemic.

Responses from a study of in-person focus groups show that not only do patients report adverse effects on quality of life, physical well-being, and mental health but that their caregivers do as well.

Patients discharged from hospitals after recovering from severe COVID-19 were found to have lasting functional impairment and post-traumatic stress symptoms months after, according to a study.

A value-based care team approach can be utilized to adequately treat patients’ medical problems, particularly by addressing the social, economic, and environmental challenges they’re facing in their everyday lives.

After Medicare Part D plans stopped covering a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) therapy, patients had gaps in care and increased out-of-pocket costs, according to a recent study.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the chief medical officer for Virginia’s Medicaid program about 4 ways payers can make sure that those with opioid use disorder get the treatment they need; the strategies are outlined in the March issue of The American Journal of Managed Care.

With a marked increase in virtual care use amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several strategies can continue to evolve its effectiveness and adoption. This includes addressing disparities in usage among older populations and underserved communities, as well as improving home monitoring and interoperability.

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.

To adapt to a new requirement this year for all US hospitals to publicly post the costs for treatment services under every insurance plan, health systems should be prepared to field the range of questions that consumers may ask on issues such as outcomes data and cost for prospective services.

Investigators sought to better understand increasing price trends, including those seen among disease-modifying drugs to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurological diseases.

Heart failure has been shown to be a contributing factor in more deaths in rural vs urban counties in which cardiovascular disease was pinpointed as the underlying cause of death.

Length of stay outliers are associated with hospital-acquired infections, complications, and discharge to facility, as opposed to nonmodifiable risk factors like age and comorbidities.

Citing 2021 as the year of the pharmacist, this year's CVS Health’s Health Trends Report discusses pressing issues for pharmacists to monitor, including availability of COVID-19 vaccines to communities nationwide, as well as integration of telehealth and behavioral health services.

In a briefing, the White House COVID-19 Team discussed the first guidance from the CDC on activities that individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely resume, and Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, gave an update on antiretroviral drug development.

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.

According to new research, 88% of trials initially matched to patients were eventually classified as false positives when manually screened by a provider.

A retrospective study looking at pediatric patients hospitalized in 4 New York hospitals in 2020 with COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) found that acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred in 11.8% of patients.

Asthma and immunology specialists responding to a survey about physical activity for patients with asthma were mostly unaware of any guidelines but seemed willing to learn more about how to incorporate them into practice.

In preparing for the upcoming implementation of the Interoperability and Patient Access final rule by CMS, best practices for health plans include prioritizing data mapping, sensitivity codes for privacy, and consumer-friendly language in accessible data for patients.

Despite receiving specialty referrals and multiple prescriptions medications, nearly 40% of patients with an unexplained chronic cough are not given a proper diagnosis.

Despite benefitting from organ transplants similarly to other patients with kidney failure, a new study found patients with kidney failure associated with sickle cell disease (SCD) are less likely to receive transplants.

A lack of pharmacies in rural America could complicate COVID-19 vaccine rollout; over 200,000 Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans during special period; wealthy, older residents in Florida receive COVID-19 vaccines.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Sheri Winsper, the senior vice president for quality measurement at the National Quality Forum, to discuss how the forum plans to devise national telehealth quality metrics.

Most orphan drug spending does not actually go to patients with rare diseases, a new study shows.

The first batch of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine will be shipped today to states and pharmacies nationwide; Anthony Fauci, MD, says elementary school-aged children very likely to able to be vaccinated by first quarter 2022; special clinics nationwide try to treat COVID-19 survivors who continue to experience long-term symptoms.

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.

Jeffrey Hogan, Northeast regional manager of the Rogers Benefit Group and member of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Business Group on Health, discussed how his organization helped providers navigate some of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The FDA granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for the distribution of the nation's third COVID-19 vaccine, and on Sunday, a CDC panel will meet to decide on recommendations to put it into practice.

Use of a specialty pharmacy to take over the management of prior authorization (PA) requests for a dermatology practice significantly reduced the time to a decision and also decreased the time it took to fill the medication.