Knowing which patients are most at-risk for adverse drug events would help hospitals direct pharmacist-led counseling services to those who need it the most. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Foundation is funding research it believes will make it easier to identify those patients.
New regulations in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have led to the birth of essential health benefits. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new division, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO), is responsible for the oversight of the insurance offerings on the new health insurance exchanges, which have 10 required essential health benefit categories. One of these essential categories is prescription drugs. Prospective qualified health plans, prescription benefit managers, and consultant agencies have struggled through the legislation and guidance from CCIIO in an attempt to build benefits that meet the requirements. With elements of typical commercial offerings as well as those of Medicare Part D, there are many nuances that one must consider when building an exchange formulary and creating the surrounding benefit.
Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated flaccid paralysis that can range from muscle weakness and tingling to respiratory paralysis requiring prolonged respiratory support and ventilation. Overall, GBS is a rare disease, with annual incidence averaging 1 to 2 cases per 100,000 individuals.1
Catamaran, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) has been on a buying binge since 2008, snapping up its sixth PBM, Restat. The $409.5 million cash purchase is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.
In a study of patients with alcohol dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment with naltrexone resulted in a decrease in the percentage of patient drinking days. Prolonged exposure therapy was not associated with an exacerbation of alcohol-use disorder.
Children and youth on antipsychotics appear to have a 3-fold increased risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a study published by JAMA Psychiatry.
Kaiser Permanente (KP) Northern California nearly doubled the rate of blood pressure control among adult members with diagnosed hypertension between 2001 and 2009 through a large-scale community-based program, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported recently.
In a Drug Safety Communication, FDA has reported that a patient in Europe being treated for multiple sclerosis and who had no history of using natalizumab (Tysabri) developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) while taking fingolimod (Gilenya).
Eleven states have reduced antipsychotic use in nursing home residents by at least 15%, meeting a CMS partnership goal set last year.
The new fixed-combination of brinzolamide 1% plus brimonidine 0.2% (Simbrinza Suspension, Alcon Laboratories) is a safe and effective option for lowering IOP in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension uncontrolled on monotherapy.
One in 10 Americans admit taking someone else’s Rx, according to an ongoing Reuters/psos online survey. About a quarter of those people used the prescription drugs to get high, according to the survey
Insulin pumps control blood sugar in children with diabetes better than insulin injections, according to a new study.
Priority review, breakthrough therapy, fast-track designations, orphan drug designations, first-time generic approval
FDA approvals
Drinking large amounts of coffee may be bad for under-55s, according to a recent study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Pharmacists in Canada were recently given broader responsibilities including, in certain provinces, prescribing privileges, vaccination abilities, and the ability to order and interpret laboratory tests. This newly expanded role for Canadian pharmacists can benefit both patients and physicians, according to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Drug evaluation and selection models are changing. Safety and efficacy have become the starting point for consideration by many payers. What they really want to see is evidence of superior performance in real world patient populations.
According to FDA, the risk of peripheral neuropathy occurs only with fluoroquinolones that are taken by mouth or by injection.
The majority of antibiotics prescribed for adults in ambulatory care settings are broad-spectrum agents, most commonly fluoroquinolones and macrolides. These are frequently prescribed for conditions where no antibiotic therapy is needed at all, such as for bronchitis and colds, which are caused by viruses, according to a study published online July 25, 2013, in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.
Alabama has targeted so-called “doctor shopping” and Rx diversion with three bills designed to stop such lawbreakers.
Despite last season’s flu outbreak, less than half the people surveyed (46%) by CVS/pharmacy said they were more likely to get a flu shot this year.
Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to the patients they serve. Coordinated care helps ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, with the goal of avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. When an ACO succeeds in both delivering high-quality care and spending healthcare dollars more wisely, it will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program.1 The overall goal of the ACO is to reduce costs by focusing on preventative care and disease management.
The pros and cons of oral oncolytics and intravenous drugs.
It is estimated that 30 million people will gain access to medical care beginning in 2014, with implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Administratively, the federal government and most states have not worked out the details of how patients will gain access to the healthcare system, let alone receive care. Primary care providers (PCPs) are ill-prepared to accept this enormous influx of new patients, which will place an even greater strain on the already strapped primary care workforce. Estimates are that an additional 17,000 PCPs are currently needed, and another 40,000 PCPs may be needed by 2025 to care for the nation’s aging population. How best to handle this large influx of patients into the healthcare system is at issue.
FDA this week approved integrase strand transfer inhibitor dolutegravir (Tivicay, ViiV Healthcare , GlaxoSmithKline) to treat HIV-1 infection.
