This Week in Managed Care: The Top Stories of 2019

Health care disparities are often driven by where patients live, explained Antoine Keller, MD, as he discussed the complex, systematic hurdles that influence the health of rural communities.

Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.

Missy Hopson, PhD, Ochsner Health, discussed in detail the challenges of strengthening the patient-centered workforce, the power of community reputation for encouraging health care careers, and the influence of empowered workforces on patient outcomes.

A group of experts discusses the use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology in diabetes and its transformative potential in managing the disease.

While findings around hospital and emergency department use were similar at the individual and neighborhood levels, the use of outpatient services differed.

The electronic health record (EHR)–based symptom inventory identified symptom prevalence and associated comorbidities, but no ovarian cancers were diagnosed during the study period.