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What We're Reading: US Ebola Help; E-Cigarettes and Smoking Cessation; Calif. Hospital Quality Targets
As the Congo grapples with a new outbreak of the Ebola virus, HHS Secretary Alex Azar has promised to provide aid if the outbreak spreads; providing workers with free e-cigarettes did not help them quit smoking any more than the usual smoking cessation methods did; hospitals in California that haven’t met targets for safety and quality could be excluded from the state’s insurance exchanges health plans.
US Pledges Help to Prevent Spread of Ebola
As the Congo grapples with a new outbreak of the Ebola virus, HHS Secretary Alex Azar has promised to provide aid if the outbreak spreads. According to The Associated Press, the US will commit an additional $7 million to the Ebola response. Azar and his counterparts from other nations are meeting this week in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, where the Ebola response will be discussed. The current Ebola outbreak is believed to have killed at least 27 people. Recently, 3 patients escaped quarantine in Congo, which has fueled fears the virus may spread, The Washington Post reported.
Wellness Study Finds E-Cigarettes Don’t Help Smokers Quit
Providing workers with free e-cigarettes did not help them quit smoking any more than the usual smoking cessation methods, according to a study. While financial rewards were found to be more effective, none of the 5 smoking cessation strategies worked very well, reported Los Angeles Times. The study had a success rate of just 1.3%—only 80 of the 6006 smokers who enrolled in the trial could prove they had quit smoking 6 months after their quit dates.
Covered California to Impose Safety, Quality Targets for Hospitals
By the end of 2019, hospitals in California that haven’t met targets for safety and quality could be excluded from the state’s insurance exchanges health plans. California Healthline reported that hospitals will be measured based on performance in problem areas, such as performing fewer unnecessary cesarean sections, prescribing fewer opioids, and reducing the use of imaging to diagnose and treat back pain. Health plans can request an exemption to keep a noncomplying hospital in network, but the reasoning must be documented.
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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