News

One in five Americans now receive their health insurance through Medicaid

The least expensive plans offered by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna and Assurant were over 40% more expensive on average than the least expensive plans on the exchanges

Ramucirumab (Cyramza) combined with docetaxel (Taxotere) extended overall survival 1.4 months in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) when compared to standard second-line therapy (Taxotere alone), according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

Funding will help expand service hours, hire more medical providers and add oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision services

A bortezomib (Velcade)-based regimen significantly improved progression free survival (PFS) and consistently improved secondary efficacy end points in previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients compared to standard therapy, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

Ceritinib (Zykadia) previously known as LDK378,shrank tumors in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive (ALK+) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including those who had received previous treatment with an ALK inhibitor as well as patients receiving one for the first time, according to data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. Results were also observed in patients with ALK+ NSCLC who entered the study with brain metastases.

In older adults hospitalized with pneumonia, treatment that included azithromycin compared with other antibiotics was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and a slightly increased risk of heart attack, according to a study in the June 4 issue of JAMA.

A delay in filling the first prescription for clopidogrel after coronary stenting is associated with an increased risk of death and myocardial infarction (MI), according to a study published online May 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Industry experts question whether the high cost of treatment is beneficial to patients and health plans

Patients across the country continue to feel the impact of critical prescription drug shortages. As formulary managers understand, an integrated approach to solving shortages, involving all supply chain stakeholders, can have a profound effect on mitigating the impact of shortages on patients.

Heroin use has become pervasive in all sectors, inner cities, suburbs and rural areas. It is no longer an isolated problem, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

When vaccines eradicate illnesses (eg, smallpox), life is grand. However, when eradication is impossible (eg, pneumococcus), what is the goal of vaccination? The most essential vaccine function is to reduce the number and/or severity of infections.

The Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is an infectious viral disease with about 30% mortality caused by viral pneumonia and associated lung damage. The etiologic agent of MERS, MERS-CoV, is a member of the coronavirus family. Coronaviruses are responsible for a variety of pathologic effects in a broad spectrum of vertebrates including the virus currently responsible for epidemic piglet deaths in hog farms in the United States. The pathogenicity of MERS is due, in part, to the innate immune deficiency state that results from inhibition of a first responder to viral infection, interferon (IFN).

Price continues to drive prescription drug trend

Clear, actionable comes to the forefront

FDA has approved panitumumab (Vectibix, Amgen) for use in combination with FOLFOX, an oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy regimen, as first-line treatment in patients with wild-type KRAS (exon 2) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Ten recent policy reports show a consensus on reducing the role of fee-for-service pay structures, says Paul Ginsburg

The lawsuit details violations of the Mental Health Parity

New guidelines will spur a critical and fundamental shift to patient involvement

Ability to access medical data outweighs privacy risks

Fast-changing population trends will force novel approaches to care delivery

Timely and accurate diagnosis, as well as patient access to local resources, are key to managing Alzheimer’s, according to a report from the Alzheimer’s Association.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is taking a stand on trying to reduce the incidence of hepatitis B (HBV) by recommending that individuals who are at high risk of infection should be screened.

FDA has approved dalbavancin (Dalvance, Durata Therapeutics) for injection for the treatment of adult patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by susceptible Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

With global disability concerns rising, Voltarra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia, have initiated a phase 3, randomized multicenter clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of VOLT01 for controlling knee osteoarthritis (OA).

The risk of an injury was greater among older adults in poorer health

Injecting botulinum toxin injection into the epicardial fat pads prevented recurrences of atrial tachyarrhythmia in the postoperative period in patients with prior paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, according to results of a study presented at the Heart Rhythm Society meeting in San Francisco.

Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have the most common epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation (exon 19 deletion) lived longer if treated with first-line afatinib (Gilotrif) compared to chemotherapy, according to data presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in Chicago.

Pirfenidone (Esbriet), an oral antifibrotic therapy, was able to reduce progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and reduce the risk of mortality, according to phase 3 trial results presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego.

FDA has approved vedolizumab (Entyvio, Takeda) injection to treat adult patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis and adult patients with moderate to severe Crohn‘s disease.