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The Potential Role of PCSK9 Inhibitors for Patients With Hyperlipidemia
John A. Johnson, MD, MBA: The PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9) inhibitors are fairly new medications that have become available, and, again, as we’ve mentioned earlier, the statins are also available.
We’ve seen that even with maximum statin therapy with drugs such as Crestor or Lipitor (at the maximum dose), it’s still a challenge for some clinicians to get their hyperlipidemic patients to an LDL (low-density lipoprotein) below goal. Again, the goal depends on the risks the patient has. But, in general, an LDL below 100 would be acceptable for a diabetic or below 70 for a diabetic with heart disease.
So, it’s oftentimes difficult to push the statin to a high enough dose without causing some of the safety or tolerability concerns [for] the patient. You may have to move toward a combination therapy, and newer agents are becoming available. At the health plan [level], we make those medications available when we’ve seen documentation that other medications are less effective.
AI in Health Care: Closing the Revenue Cycle Gap
April 1st 2025This commentary explores the current state, challenges, and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care revenue cycle management, emphasizing collaboration, data standardization, and targeted implementation to enhance adoption.
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Managed Care Reflections: A Q&A With Hoangmai H. Pham, MD, MPH
April 1st 2025To mark the 30th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®), each issue in 2025 will include a special feature: reflections from a thought leader on what has changed—and what has not—over the past 3 decades and what’s next for managed care. The April issue features a conversation with Hoangmai H. Pham, MD, MPH, a member of AJMC’s editorial board and the president and CEO of the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC).
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Bridging Care Gaps With a Systemwide Value-Based Care Strategy
March 29th 2025Mapping care management needs by defining patient populations and then stratifying them according to risk and their needs can help to spur the transformation of a siloed health care system into an integrated system that is able to better provide holistic, value-based care despite the many transitions that continue among hospital, primary, specialty, and community care environments.
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