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Complexity still strangling efforts to automate

When NASA astronauts first ventured into space and their vital signs were monitored by Earth-bound doctors using video conferencing equipment, the term "telemedicine" was born.

While healthcare costs are predicted to rise at a slower rate in 2006 than in recent years, employers will still pay an average of more than $8,400 per employee. This amounts to an 8% increase, roughly $600 per employee; employees will pay about $155 of that increase in 2006, a 10% rise from 2005 levels, according to the 17th Annual Towers Perrin Health Care Cost Survey released in September 2005.

Most PBMs will need to continue to work harder and smarter to bring value to their customers, say industry experts.

If the united states' healthcare trend continues on its current course, in 20 years the number of people with diabetes will more than double to 50 million. This dismaying prediction comes from a new report from the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine in conjunction with the Institute for Alternative Futures. If the current trend continues, by 2025

A value-based formulary enables the payer and pharmacy benefit partner achieve lower net cost.

Establishing and managing a RHIO is a little like promoting world peace.

On a national level, the Medicaid population has grown by 11 million since 1996 and has increasingly spread into managed care. Ten years ago, 40.1% of the 33 million Medicaid enrollees were covered by managed care plans, and as of June 2004, 60.6% of 44 million enrollees were covered by managed care, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Medicare Advantage unit within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is keeping a watchful eye on improper marketing activities in the new, revamped Medicare product market. Medicare officials at CMS have received numerous complaints about the aggressive sales tactics being used by some insurance agents and insurers in the marketing of new Medicare prescription drug plans.

For some problems, there are no easy answers. Even the best solution might have detrimental drawbacks. We see this in healthcare every day when we try to deliver care to the uninsured, improve health through lifestyle changes or push the quality envelope.

Review of agents in late-stage development for the treatment of selected dermatologic disorders (December 2005).

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy, one of the most common late complications of diabetes, is associated with decreased quality of life and increased morbidity. The pathophysiology of diabetic neuropathy (DN) is multifactorial, contributing to ischemic and painful events and neuronal damage.

Thalidomide (Thalomid, Celgene) as a treatment for multiple myeloma

Acute care is less expensive through specialized treatment sources

Read more about provider contracting

Establishing the right program can balance the value of specialty drugs

EMRs can add to a practice's bottom line

HMO penetration analyses by state are affected by a number of factors, say industry experts. They include: employer offerings; employee incentives: the mix of commercial, Medicare and Medicaid enrollees; and national employers listing enrollment by home state rather than where enrollees live.

Much of the buzz in consumer-driven healthcare centers on the gaining momentum of health savings accounts (HSAs). Consumers currently are focused on reducing their premiums, making HSAs popular because they offer an acceptable response to the rising premium cost. However, as HSA balances increase, the focus will shift to investment options, returns and associated fees, so as the CDHC market evolves, you will need to service two groups—spenders and savers.

Just mentioning "contract negotiations" can put plans and providers on the defensive or maybe even the offensive. The sometimes-contentious relationship between the two, triggered by the high cost of healthcare and complaints from providers about not being paid enough, escalates while both parties try to come to some kind of agreement.

When it comes to quality, healthcare won't arrive at a final destination, but instead will continue to navigate quality as a journey with a map created by regulations and best-practice standards. While government mandates help to draw the lines on the road, the industry's self-defined best practices steer organizations through the deeper narrows.

In January 2000, three hospitals located in or around Chicago merged to form a single hospital health system. More than four years later, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to unwind the merger, claiming that it caused substantially higher prices to consumers. On October 20, 2005, an administrative law judge (ALJ) sided with the FTC and ordered the merger unwound.

Review of agents in late-stage development for the treatment of asthma (November 2005).

In response to the emerging threat of pandemic (avian) influenza, FDA has announced the formation of a Rapid Response Team to ensure that antiviral drugs are available to citizens in the United States if they are needed. While avian flu has not emerged in this country, the team will help ensure an adequate supply of treatments, such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu, Roche) and other anti-influenza drugs, for stockpiling in the event there is an outbreak in the United States.

In an effort to meet the administration's goal of expanded electronic government, FDA is requiring drug manufacturers to submit prescription drug label information to the agency in a new electronic format. This electronic format will allow healthcare providers and consumers to more easily access the product information found in package inserts for all approved medications in the United States.

The future leadership of FDA remains highly uncertain following the unexpected resignation of commissioner Lester M. Crawford, DVM, PhD, in September. Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was named acting FDA commissioner, but conflict arose initially because Dr von Eschenbach wanted to retain a leadership role at NCI while also taking the helm of FDA. Although he handed over day-to-day leadership of NCI to a deputy, that move failed to fully appease critics concerned about conflicts of interest in advocating for speedy access to new cancer treatments while overseeing the safety and effectiveness of those therapies. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) secretary Michael Leavitt has indicated that Dr von Eschenbach is not likely to get the top job at FDA on a permanent basis.

Men who have used 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors to reduce their cholesterol levels may be at less risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a case-control study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Results from a 6-month, phase 3b/4 study of eszopiclone (Lunesta, Sepracor) in adult patients with chronic insomnia demonstrated that nightly use of eszopiclone 3 mg resulted in statistically significant improvements (P<.0001) compared with placebo in patient-reported measures of sleep latency (onset of sleep), sleep maintenance, total sleep time, and sleep quality. These results were announced in late September at the American Neurological Association (ANA) Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif.

Eszopiclone (Lunesta, Sepracor), a novel, non-benzodiazepine sleep aid, shows significant value in the treatment of insomnia associated with menopause, said Claudio N. Soares, MD, PhD, at the North American Menopause Society's 16th annual meeting in San Diego, Calif.