AJMC® in the Press, May 12, 2017

An article from the April issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) was summarized in a story on RevCycleIntelligence.com. In “Provider Type and Management of Common Visits in Primary Care,” researchers assessed rates of prescribing and test orders by nurse practitioners and physician assistants compared with primary care physicians. They found that the non-physicians “might have been more judicious in use of ‘low-value’ ancillary services” for back pain and respiratory infections.

On Monday, the daily e-newsletter from the National Pharmaceutical Council highlighted an article from AJMC^®’s coverage of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition^® meeting. The article, titled “Finding Value of Life-Saving Therapies Can Reveal What Matters to Patients,” summarized the meeting’s keynote lecture delivered by Darius Lakdawalla, PhD. He discussed how value frameworks can help guide treatment choices, but said such decisions must be informed by patients’ goals and expectations.

Also on Monday, the Accountable Care SmartBrief e-newsletter selected an AJMC^® newsroom article for its Accountable Care Spotlight roundup. “Business Groups Call for Accelerating Value-Based Initiatives” covered the launch of the DRIVE (Deliver Results, Innovation and Value for Everyone) Health Initiative spearheaded by 2 influential business groups. The initiative aims to speed up the adoption of value-based reforms, since the business leaders say value-based models will result in better quality healthcare, which is good for business.