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More than half of primary care physicians provide nonessential specialty referrals upon patient request

A study recently published in the American Journal of Managed Care found that more than half of primary care providers reported that they made what they considered unnecessary referrals to a specialist because patients requested it. Many physicians said they yielded to patient requests for brand-name drug prescriptions when cheaper generics were available.

7 Jan 2016

Most patients with chronic pain continue to receive prescription opioids after nonfatal overdose

A study led by Boston Medical Center indicates that most patients with chronic pain who are hospitalized after a nonfatal opioid overdose continue to receive prescription opioids after the overdose and are at high risk for experiencing a repeated overdose.

30 Dec 2015

Harmony Health Plan of Illinois to donate $10,000 to Kidz Korna

Harmony Health Plan of Illinois, Inc., a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), will give $10,000 to Kidz Korna to help make the holidays special for 10,000 low-income children in Chicago's Englewood community.

26 Dec 2015

Email communications between patients, physicians improve overall health

A third of patients with chronic conditions who exchanged secure emails with their doctors said that these communications improved their overall health, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published today in the American Journal of Managed Care.

22 Dec 2015

Comorbidities relevant to CML TKI choice common

Comorbid conditions that could affect the choice of tyrosine kinase inhibitor are common in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia, finds an analysis of a US claims database.

27 Nov 2015

Undetected cancer among women undergoing gynecologic surgery more common than previously thought

Minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries have advantages for patients, including shorter hospital stays, quicker recoveries, and less pain. However, power morcellation, a technique which cuts the uterus or fibroid into small pieces in order to extract them from the abdomen through a small incision, may worsen a woman's prognosis if a cancer is morcellated unintentionally.

20 Nov 2015

UPMC for You honored by MHPA Institute for Medicaid Innovation

UPMC for You, the Medical Assistance program of UPMC Health Plan, was honored by the Medicaid Health Plans of America Institute for Medicaid Innovation for demonstrating innovative and effective approaches to providing services that have improved the health of Medicaid enrollees, at MHPA's annual Best Practices Awards program held in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.

19 Nov 2015

SKYGEN USA announces launch of Hylis Pharmacy Solutions

Citing a need to bring skyrocketing pharmacy costs under control, SKYGEN USA, the umbrella brand for a distinguished family of benefit management companies and technology solutions for health payers and healthcare organizations, today announced the launch of Hylis Pharmacy Solutions.

10 Nov 2015

Addus HomeCare’s net service revenues increase 3.3% to $84.3 million in Q3 2015

Addus HomeCare Corporation, a comprehensive provider of home and community-based services that are primarily personal in nature, provided in the home and focused on the dual eligible population, today announced its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2015.

3 Nov 2015

New studies raise important questions about impact of statin therapy on effectiveness of flu vaccines

A new pair of studies suggests that statins, drugs widely used to reduce cholesterol, may have a detrimental effect on the immune response to influenza vaccine and the vaccine's effectiveness at preventing serious illness in older adults. Published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, the findings, if confirmed by additional research, may have implications for flu vaccine recommendations, guidelines for statin use around the time of vaccination, and future vaccine clinical trials in seniors.

29 Oct 2015

MHNConnect's connectivity improves health care delivery

The Medical Home Network collaboration in Chicago is changing the way health care is being delivered to Medicaid patients through the use of innovative technology combined with a highly efficient, patient-centered and team-based model of care, according to information released October 15. This has an impact on hospital readmissions, the length of hospital stay and the cost of providing care. Rush University Medical Center is one six founding hospital partners.

27 Oct 2015

Amgen's IMLYGIC receives positive opinion from CHMP for treatment of melanoma

Amgen today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency, has adopted a positive opinion recommending that IMLYGIC (talimogene laherparepvec) be granted approval for the treatment of adults with unresectable melanoma that is regionally or distantly metastatic (Stage IIIB, IIIC and IVM1a) with no bone, brain, lung or other visceral disease.

23 Oct 2015

Data shows romosozumab better than teriparatide in increasing bone strength in postmenopausal women

Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) today presented additional findings from an exploratory sub-study of the previously reported romosozumab Phase 2 trial.

13 Oct 2015

Integrating addiction treatment into primary care lowers substance dependence in patients with HIV

A program developed at Boston Medical Center, which integrates addiction treatment into primary care for patients with or at risk for HIV, has been shown to lower patients' substance dependence and encourage their engagement in treatment.

30 Sep 2015

Johns Hopkins study highlights need for effective postpartum interventions for women with pregnancy complications

Citing an analysis of more than 26,000 Maryland Medicaid claims, Johns Hopkins researchers report evidence that poor women with recent complications during their pregnancies are using the emergency room at higher rates after delivery and may not be getting the postpartum care and follow-up they need to prevent further health problems.

29 Sep 2015

Amgen gets positive CHMP opinions for Kyprolis (carfilzomib) and BLINCYTO (blinatumomab)

"We are pleased to receive positive CHMP opinions for Kyprolis and BLINCYTO as this is an important step in providing new treatment options for patients in Europe with rare forms of cancer," said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen.

25 Sep 2015

BMC significantly reduces emergency wait time, improves SCD care for pediatric patients

Boston Medical Center has significantly reduced the amount of time that pediatric patients experiencing pain from sickle cell disease (SCD) wait before receiving pain medication when they come to the emergency department. The hospital's quality improvement initiative cut the wait time by more than 50 percent, from an average of 56 minutes to 23 minutes, from triage to administration of the first dose of pain medication.

21 Sep 2015

Amgen, Xencor partner to develop and commercialize new therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, inflammation

Amgen and Xencor, Inc. announced today that the two companies have entered into a research and license agreement to develop and commercialize novel therapeutics in the areas of cancer immunotherapy and inflammation.

16 Sep 2015

Race, ethnicity may influence physician-patient decision-making process

Racial and ethnic inequalities in medical care are widely documented in literature. However, variations in Americans' experiences with healthcare, specifically regarding physician-patient communication and shared decision-making about treatment plans, are not well understood.

10 Sep 2015

Amgen announces MAA submission to EMA for novel calcimimetic agent etelcalcetide

Amgen today announced the submission of a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency via the centralized procedure for etelcalcetide (formerly AMG 416) for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on hemodialysis therapy. If approved, etelcalcetide will be the first calcimimetic agent that can be administered intravenously.

3 Sep 2015