Real-World Data Study Finds Universal Blood-Borne Virus Testing Improves Health Outcomes
A newly published study in Scientific Reports found that implementing universal bloodborne virus testing in a hospital emergency department increased rates of care utilization and improved outcomes. Moreover, universal bloodborne virus testing helped identify more infections in people with marginalized identities that face barriers to healthcare access.
Castor RWE Platform Released to Facilitate Post-Marketing Clinical Trials
The clinical trial company Castor has announced the launch of its Castor RWE platform. The software extends the company’s real-world evidence (RWE) and real-world data (RWD) offerings. Using the platform, researchers can cut costs in post-marketing clinical trials and speed therapeutic deployment
WHO Releases Telemedicine Guide
Although telemedicine took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries face issues maintaining reliable, sustained access to patients who depend [...]
New Data Reveals Burden of Oral Disease on Managed Care Plans
New research in Managed Care shows the burden of oral disease on managed care plans. The researchers looked at data from the IBM Watson Medicaid Marketscan data base, the IBM Dental Database, and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to ascertain the burden on Medicaid and commercial plans separately.
Pharma Warns Investors About Future Earnings Impact of Drug Pricing Reform
Several pharma companies have told investors of potential earnings drops caused by the looming implementation of drug pricing reform in the US. This includes companies like Merck, Amgen, Eli Lilly, and more, some of which blamed decisions to cut back on research. The drug reform law in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act would let the government negotiate the prices of a small number of drugs and fine companies for hiking Medicare drug prices faster than inflation.
Clinerion Announces Release of Federated Machine Learning Platform
Clinerion has announced the launch of its Federated Machine Learning Platform. This machine learning-driven software platform will allow users to run data-analytics on the Patient Network Explorer Infrastructure, the company’s large international network of real-world data (RWD) based on electronic health records (EHR). This network consists of data from 425 million patients.
Verily Announces Plans for IBD Registry in Collaboration with Chrohn’s & Colitis Foundation
Late last month, the Alphabet subsidiary Verily announced it will expand its pilot program with the Chrohn’s & Colitis Foundation to build a data registry of patients with irritable bowel disorder (IBD). The updated registry will include symptoms and patient concerns, and will be used to further research into the underlying mechanisms and etiology of the disease.
US Democrats Eye Drug Launch Prices
With a recent legislative win in the books with drug pricing reform in the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats are looking towards high drug launch prices. In recent years, the launch prices of many drugs, especially biologics, have skyrocketed, with the average launch price in 2021 at $232,000. Rep Katie Porter (Dem-CA) has pointed out that now is the time to strike, while drug pricing reform still has momentum.
Implementing Machine Learning to Glean Insights from Real-World Data Sources in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Healthcare researchers have increasingly implemented machine learning approaches to help process large sources of real-world data (RWD). Oftentimes, this approach [...]
Pfizer and PointClickCare Team Up in Real-World Data Collaboration
PointClickCare has announced a new joint project between itself and Pfizer. As part of the collaboration, PointClickCare will supply Pfizer [...]
The State of US Healthcare Policy With a Split Congress
With a “red wave” failing to materialize at the end of the mid-term election season in the US, it looks increasingly likely that Congress will be split with Democrats controlling the Senate and Republicans controlling the House of Representatives. This portends a significant change in policy-making, as many of the Democrats’ plans for healthcare, such as drug pricing reform and Medicare expansion, may be dead on arrival.
Global Pricing Innovations Launches GPI Horizon Platform for Value Assessment
Global Pricing Innovations (GPI) has announced the launch of its new GPI Horizon platform. GPI Horizon is an analytics-based tool to expedite value-assessment and price prediction across the entire life cycle to help drive market access and reduce payer risk. The program is part of GPI’s larger offerings, but can be used in a self-service model.
FDA Officials Point Out Interchangeability Essential to Biosimilar Competition
Despite a range of biosimilars entering the market, their ability to lower drug spending for patients is dependent on payer reimbursement, which is inconsistent and based on approved uses. According to FDA officials, one avenue to ease these issues is with interchangeables, drugs that can be substituted without a doctor’s permission. However, only a few of these drugs have been approved for interchangeable use. The market landscape is shaky, even for approved interchangeables like Semglee by Viatris, an insulin biosimilar.
PCOC 2022: AJMC Talks with Dr. Kashyap Patel About Value-Based Care
This year’s Patient-Centered Oncology Care 2022 saw several talks about defining value in oncology care, according to Dr. Kashyap Patel of Community Oncology Alliance and Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates. Patel spoke about this and other topics covered at the conference with the AJMC staff in a video interview.
Proving the Value of Real-World Data to Stakeholders
As more and more pharma companies, payer groups, and regulatory bodies accept the growing use of real-world data (RWD) in decision-making, it is becoming ever more important to demonstrate the resource’s value to stakeholders. In a new article by Barbara Arone MS, VP of Real World Solutions at IQVIA, learn about proving the value of RWD and the real-world evidence (RWE) generated from it.
Most Large Medicaid Managed Care Plans Plan Around Health Equity
The Institute for Medicaid Innovation released results from its fifth annual “Medicaid Health Plan Survey, ” revealing that 83% of larger Medicaid managed care plans had some strategy in place, compared to one-third of smaller plans. The data, which comes from nearly all US states, shows that most plans account for race and ethnicity in equity strategies.
Drug Pricing Reform on the Back Burner in Ramp-Up to US Mid-Term Elections
Although healthcare is front and center on tomorrow’s ballot in terms of abortion and Medicare, drug pricing reform has not been a key talking point in the lead-up to the US mid-term elections. This is in spite of the Democrats’ recent legislative win with the Inflation Reduction Act, which included major drug pricing reform. However, some Republicans hope to completely or partially repeal the act, including popular portions like price capping prescription costs for older adults.
India’s NPPA to Reconsider Retail Price Fixing for Cipla’s Combo Inhaler
India’s National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has been told by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) to consider Cipla’s retail pricing application for a combination inhaler drug. The decision comes after years of legal struggles surrounding similarities between the drug, a combination of Formoterol Fumarate Dihydrate 6mcg and Beclomethasone Dipropionate IP 100 mg, and one of its competitors.
Reviewing the Promise and Use of Real-World Data
Real-world data (RWD) and the real-world evidence (RWE) generated is used more and more in research and healthcare decision-making. A newly-published article in BMC Medical Research Methodology serves as an RWD primer, covering the different types of RWD, where it comes from, analysis methods, and how insights derived from it can be implemented.
Achieving Better Health Outcomes Through Health Equity and Patient-Centered Approaches
Health equity and patient-centricity are both increasingly being considered by pharma companies according to the drug development pipeline. In a new sponsored Fierce Pharma article, Kelvin Tan of Jazz Pharmaceuticals discusses how the company has prioritized these efforts in their oncology and neuroscience projects by advocating for health literacy and patient input.
Improving Care for Dual-Eligible Individuals by Synchronizing Medicare and Medicaid Data
Many people in the US qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Care concerns are often unique for these so-called “dual eligibles,” and significant policy efforts have been made to improve their health outcomes through new models of dual cove rage. Unfortunately, few data resources exist for dual eligible people, complicating health equity efforts.
US Senate Report Finds Nine States Saw Spike in Medicare Advantage Advertising Complaints
The Medicare Advantage program allows patients to purchase a private insurance plan with their Medicare benefits. A report released by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) found that 9 of 10 states examined had an increase in complaints over private insurers engaging in unethical marketing practices targeting seniors in the program.
Using Value-Based Payment to Support Health Equity Starts at Model Design
Although value-based payment (VBP) models offer the opportunity to advance health equity goals, doing so requires an intentional, carefully considered approach. Health equity must be centered in payment model design, according to newly published Health Affairs article in a recent series on VBPs. Patient attribution methods are critical but often overlooked.
Major US Healthcare Organizations Recommend Several Changes to Value-Based Care Programs
A group of US healthcare organizations has asked Congress for several changes to help boost engagement in value-based care payment models as laid out in the the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The groups included the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), the American Medical Group Association (MGMA), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The program thresholds in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs) lay at the center of the organizations’ concerns.
Teva Agrees to Pay New York $523 Million
Teva Pharmaceuticals has agreed to settle yet another case relating to its role in the US opioid crisis, this time with the state of New York. According to the state’s Attorney General Tish James, the pharma giant will pay an additional $313 million on top of the $210 million the state will receive from a nationwide settlement Teva reached this summer.
