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What We're Reading: CDC Reports Rising Use of Powerful Antibiotics
What we're reading, September 20, 2016: CDC reports widespread use of powerful antibiotics in hospitals; Gilead Sciences is backing advocates who want states to pay for expensive drugs; and Zika travel advisory lifted in 1 Florida zone.
The CDC has found more widespread use of powerful antibiotics in hospitals. However, the trend is considered worrisome as overuse of antibiotics allows bacteria to become resistant to these treatments, according to The Wall Street Journal. From 2006 to 2012, there was a 37% increase in the use of a drug considered a last resort against certain bacteria.
Gilead Sciences is backing advocates who want states to cover expensive drugs. Bloomberg reported that the drug maker and its foundation has donated money to the people who helped build the case of a lawsuit filed by 2 patients with hepatitis C in Washington state. If the plaintiffs win, the state’s Medicaid program would be forced to cover high-cost treatments—which would benefit Gilead and other companies.
The CDC has lifted its Zika travel advisory for 1 zone in Florida, but the travel advisory for Miami Beach has tripled in size. The travel advisory was able to be lifted in the Wynwood area of Miami because there has been no evidence of new cases since early August, according to The Washington Post. Still, the CDC is recommending that women and men who traveled to the area from June 15 to September 18 wait at least 8 weeks before trying to get pregnant, even if they don’t have signs or symptoms of the virus.
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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