Pharmacy

Purchasers, manufacturers explore new pricing models

FDA’s approval of Vertex Pharmaceutical’s groundbreaking lumacaftor/ivacaftor (Orkambi) for cystic fibrosis (CF) is the first drug to treat the underlying cause of CF in people ages 12 and older with two copies of the F508del mutation.

A recent study projects that U.S. employers may see minimal savings to overall healthcare costs resulting from the introduction of biosimilars to the U.S. market.

Although prescription drug misuse is declining among teens, one in two patients tested between the ages of 10 and 17 years are not using their medications appropriately, potentially putting their health at risk, according to a new analysis.

Industry experts weigh the options between a traditional pharmacy benefits manager and a pharmacy benefits administrator.

The high cost of these medications could overwhelm patients and plans, according to one expert.

A health kiosk-decision support system may be a novel and important approach to improve provider prescription patterns.

First injectable cholesterol drugs approved

Managing cardiovascular drug trend could prove challenging

Entresto is the first in a new class of drugs, valsartan combined with sacubitril, a pro-drug of a compound that is a receptor‐neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI). It is taken orally twice daily. It was approved for heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction based on the PARADIGM-HF trial.

Here are five ways healthcare organizations of all types, including managed care organizations, can improve patient adherence to prescribed medication therapies.

Although many states and the federal government are taking a close look at granting provider status for pharmacists, the two entities have slightly different priorities.

Here are four reasons a clinical pharmacist should be part of care teams for chronically-ill, elderly, and at-risk patient populations.

Patient-centered pharmacies, which put consumers and their relationship with pharmacists and caregivers at the center of the business model, is producing improved outcomes.

FDA’s approval of the first generic version of Copaxone for treating patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis has industry insiders contemplating the impact on the generics market as well as payer coverage strategies.

Critics charge that the practice of adverse tiering to deter costly patients is violating the Affordable Care Act's coverage mandate.

Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol may achieve better health outcomes when using pharmacies that are part of performance-based networks, according to early results of a pay-for-performance program conducted by SCAN Health Plan and Express Scripts.

Consensus is building on the promise of genetic testing and other technological advances to help individualize testing, prevention and treatment for better outcomes.

The number of deaths from prescription pain relievers dropped 5% in 2012, and new tools are helping in the fight against opioid abuse.

Both public and private purchasers are in an important position to act as catalysts of change in managing specialty pharmacy.

Increasing unnecessary regulations on drug plans could inflict higher costs on the 220 million Americans who get their medications through a managed drug plan, according to a new report.

In the first release of its star ratings, only 251 hospitals scored “five out of five stars” on Medicare’s Hospital Compare site.

Controversy surrounds the 340B Drug Discount Program, and many industry leaders agree that the healthcare law plays a large part.

UnitedHealth Group’s announcement that its free-standing pharmacy care services business, OptumRx, will merge with Catamaran Corp., the fourth largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., makes sense, according to industry experts.

Read what a panel of distinguished industry experts has to say about the increasingly difficult job of managing specialty pharmaceuticals.

Health plans struggling to rein in pharmacy costs are using mail service, disease management programs, financial incentives for generics, member cost sharing, and, increasingly, limited and closed formularies.

Health plans and providers play a critical role in maintaining U.S. vaccination rates and can help reverse the recent MMR vaccination-rate decline, a factor responsible for the recent re-emergence of measles.

In what is being called a first-of-its-kind joint effort, the Texas Medical Association and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas are launching a resource initiative to assist independent physicians with providing accountable care.

New study findings suggest that an epigenetic test could be created to identify those individuals early in the process of developing diabetes mellitus, providing hope for preventing the disease.

Two recent studies show that members who obtain health insurance through state or federal insurance exchanges use more specialty and generic drugs than their counterparts in commercial plans.