Policy

We only have to take a brief look back to see that 10 years ago, most specialty drugs were injectable agents used to treat conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and growth disorders. Today, the list of agents that is considered specialty includes many oral drugs and even some inhaled agents. In just more than 2 decades, the specialty drug market place has grown substantially.

The use of oral nutritional supplementation may offer impressive benefits in healthcare resource use and associated costs. Application of evidence-based practice guidelines is recommended.

Across the US, adults with major medical conditions were less likely to die in hospitals with higher spending levels, even after adjusting for patient risk.

Bar code medication administration can be an effective and potentially cost-saving solution to prevent harmful medication administration errors in the community hospital setting.

In Medicare Part D, generic drug coverage was cost saving compared with no coverage in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia while improving health outcomes.

The use of health services research to uncover healthcare fraud and abuse represents a novel, yet timely, implementation of this science.