News

Pfizer is discontinuing a phase 3 study of sunitinib plus paclitaxel versus bevacizumab plus paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer.

FDA has notified healthcare professionals that there is a risk of serious liver injury, including liver failure or death, with the use of propylthiouracil in both adult and pediatric patients.

Centocor Ortho Biotech has issued a Dear Healthcare Professionals letter to remind healthcare providers that golimumab (Simponi), a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha blocker, is associated with a risk of serious fungal infections.

Sipuleucel-T represents the "first active immunotherapy to demonstrate improvement in overall survival for advanced prostate cancer," said David Penson, MD, MPH, who announced the results of a phase 3 study known as Immunotherapy for Prostate Adenocarcinoma Treatment (IMPACT), at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2009 Annual Meeting.

A prospective pharmacoepidemiologic cohort study published in JAMA demonstrated that hospitalized patients treated with acid-suppressive medications were 30% more likely to develop hospital-acquired pneumonia than those who were not treated with acid-suppressive medications.

A prospective study published in Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrated that despite standardization of data entry within the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system in a specific healthcare facility, inconsistent communication in orders entered into the CPOE posed a significant safety risk.

A proposal by Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D), to establish member-run healthcare ?co-operatives? is gaining attention.

While evidence-based plan designs are still evolving, they are improving health outcomes, say experts

The aging population and the huge unmet needs are fueling the focus on biologics, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

In the wake of healthcare reform, pharmaceutical executives help take charge.

Five Blues plans collaborate to provide online, consumer-friendly healthcare cost information.

Despite national efforts to eliminate healthcare disparities, the poor have higher hospital admissions rates for conditions such as diabetes and asthma.

Employers still confident that they will be offering healthcare benefits a decade from now, but economic downturn and talk of healthcare reform shakes it.

The disparity in coverage between oral and IV chemotherapy medication is a critical issue for patients and is being debated at the national and federal levels.

Women aren't making it to high levels in healthcare, so executives must review their succession plan and create an engaging culture.

Executives are recognizing the importance of vision care and its contribution to overall health.

Providers would like access to patient data beyond their own EMRs from retail clinics.

Communicating a culture of wellness and a supported program for members and families can help overcome childhood obesity.

Wal-Mart pharmacy programs has industry rethinking benefit approaches.

Independence Blue Cross premium increases illustrates the need for individual mandates and finding a way to level out risk pools.

Private fee-for-service plans are under scruntiny as perhaps being partly responsible for skyrocketing Medicare expenditures.

Rethink benefit options and watch for new consolidations in your local provider market

Providers, plans and pharma companies promise to produce savings through tried and true methods, but skeptics doubt they'll make any sacrifices

Prescribing psychotropic medications for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other disorders in children is common around the world, even though serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) have been reported with the use of these drugs, said speakers at the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP)/European Society for Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP) International Congress on Clinical Pharmacy meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Results from the Regulation of Coagulation in Orthopaedic Surgery to Prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism 4 (RECORD4) trial published in Lancet demonstrated that rivaroxaban 10 mg once daily is superior to subcutaneous (SC) enoxaparin in preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) after total knee arthroplasty.

Analysts speculate Health Net will sell off businesses in key states where it's not the market leader.

For personalized therapies to be incorporated into a plan's coverage, a commercially insured enrollee would need to stay with the plan for many years, as more expensive therapies require longer member retention to break even, according to Deloitte.

Individual, or short-term insurance is on the rise as more Americans face transitions due to difficult economic times.

As more Americans postpone healthcare due to the recession, Managed care executives need to get out in front of this issue now to start thinking about ways to provide monitoring and stop-gap care for those who need it most.

Federal government lags when it comes to domestic partners' equal treatment in benefit, but states make progress.