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AJMC® Conversations: BCBS NC and Newton Family Physicians—The Pandemic and Primary Care
This 8-part conversation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Newton Family Physicians, moderated by The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®), focuses on the role of value-based care, independent care practices, and other aspects of health care that have been and continue to be affected by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, even as we enter 2022. This is part 1.
Days before the coronavirus variant Omicron became known in November 2021, The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®) hosted a discussion with a payer and a primary provider to look back at how they worked with each other over the past 22 months and what steps they took as COVID-19 plunged health care into crisis. We sat down with Tunde Sotunde, MD, MBA, the president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the largest insurer in that state covering more than 3.7 million members across all 100 counties, and Alan Story, MD, of Newton Family Physicians, an independent primary care practice in Catawba County in the western part of the state. The conversation delves into value-based care, independent care practices, the health care workforce, health equity, and the role of Medicaid.
Prenatal PFAS Exposure Alters Infant Vaccine-Related Immune Cells
August 1st 2025Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of persistent environmental pollutants, was linked to significant shifts in infant T helper cell development, raising concerns about long-term effects on vaccine response, immune regulation, and disease susceptibility.
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A meta-analysis showed that control group outcomes in psilocybin trials for depression were significantly weaker than those in selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and esketamine trials, suggesting that psilocybin’s large observed treatment effects may be inflated by methodological factors such as functional unblinding and expectancy bias.
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