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What We're Reading: e-Cigarettes for Smoking Cessation; Private Healthcare for Veterans; Aetna, Apple Launch Health App
A new study has demonstrated that e-cigarettes are more effective for smoking cessation than nicotine; the Department of Veterans Affairs released a proposal that would expand private healthcare access for veterans; and Aetna and Apple have launched a health app that helps users personalize and achieve their health goals.
e-Cigarettes More Effective Than Nicotine for Smoking Cessation
Smokers who switch to smoking e-cigarettes are more likely to stop smoking compared with smokers who switch to nicotine. According to a new study of nearly 900 smokers, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the 1-year abstinence rate was 18% among those who switched to e-cigarettes compared with 9.9% of those who switched to nicotine. At 52 weeks, participants who switched to e-cigarettes were also more likely to still be using their assigned product and reported more significant declines in coughing and phlegm.
Expanded Private Healthcare for Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released proposed guidelines that would allow veterans who live approximately 30 minutes away from a VA medical facility to see a private doctor, reported The Hill. Under the proposed guidelines, veterans could also see a private doctor if they have to wait more than 20 days for an appointment. Right now, veterans can see private doctors if they live 40 miles away from a VA medical facility or have more than a 30-day wait for an appointment.
Aetna and Apple Launch App To Help Achieve Health Goals
Aetna and Apple have announced their launch of Attain, their new health app that provides users with personalized health goals. Through the Apple Watch, users will receive personalized goals, track their daily activity levels, recommended healthy actions, and rewards for taking these actions to improve their health and well-being. The app is expected to be available in the Apple App Store in spring 2019, according to Aetna.
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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