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What We’re Reading: Organ Transplant System Overhaul; More COVID-19 Boosters; Hormonal Birth Control and Cancer
The US organ transplant system might face an overhaul in a proposal to be announced on Wednesday after years of criticism; the FDA may decide whether to approve additional COVID-19 booster vaccinations for vulnerable populations; a new study finds the same, small breast cancer risk in multiple forms of hormonal birth control.
US Seeks Revamp of Organ Transplant System
Plans to revamp the rickety US organ transplant system will be announced Wednesday, and will include a dismantlement of the monopoly power of the nonprofit that has run it for the last 37 years, reported The Washington Post. If it’s successful, the proposal would change almost everything about the expansive, multibillion dollar network, which has been criticized as inadequate, with almost 104,000 people on the waiting list for organs and 22 people dying each day waiting for transplants. The new proposal wants to spread out responsibility for some of the functions performed by its manager, the United Network for Organ Sharing, and would create a competitive environment in the transplant system.
FDA Might Clear Additional COVID-19 Boosters
The FDA may authorize a second round of the Omicron-targeted booster shots for seniors and other high-risk populations who are susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection, reported The Wall Street Journal. Some high-risk individuals have asked their providers to administer a second round of the updated booster, even though the FDA hasn’t approved that use.
Small Rise in Breast Cancer Risk Found in Analysis of Hormonal Birth Control
A study published in PLOS Medicine suggests that most delivery systems of hormonal birth control seem to have the same, slight increase in breast cancer risk no matter what form it comes in, reported STAT News. Researchers analyzed a UK primary care database to examine modern forms of hormonal birth control, containing estrogen and progestin, or just progestin, from 1996 to 2017. The risk was found to be very small, about 20% to 30%, which translates to an absolute increase of around half a percent for women under age 50 for the time they were on birth control, and the risk faded over time after they stopped using it.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using 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.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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