Posts Tagged “Drugs”
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Express Scripts: 2009 Drug Trend Report – Solving America’s $162 Billion in Pharmacy-Related Waste
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IMS Report on Drug Use in 2012
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 15, 2013
IMS released its annual report on use of prescription medicines and trends in the industry. The report finds that in 2012 both prescriptions and spending declined, which may be beneficial or may reflect underuse due to cost concerns.
Tags: Drugs
EMD Serono Specialty Digest III
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The final post on the EMD Serono Specialty Digest covers oncology, an area which is seeing rapid growth in very expensive specialty compounds, and use of specialty pharmacy providers.
Tags: Drugs
EMD Serono Specialty Digest II
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
In the second part of our review of the EMD Serono Specialty Digest, we focus on utilization management.
Tags: Drugs
EMD Serono Specialty Digest, Part I
by Kevin Roche on Monday, April 29, 2013
The annual EMD Serono Specialty Digest is out and does the usual excellent job of describing trends in regard to the management and utilization of specialty pharmaceuticals.
Tags: Drugs
CVS Trend Report
by Kevin Roche on Monday, April 22, 2013
CVS Caremark presents its annual Trend Report.
Tags: Drugs
iCore Specialty Drug Report
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
iCore, a unit of Magellan, presents its third Medical Pharmacy & Oncology Trend Report, which indicates that specialty pharmacy costs continue to grow very rapidly, despite increased management attention from payers.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Express Scripts Drug Trend Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The 2012 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report indicates that spending for traditional medications has actually fallen, while costs for specialty drugs continue to soar. More of the same is likely in store for 2013.
Tags: Drugs
An Abused Drug Discount Program
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, February 21, 2013
The 340B program was designed to allowed non-profit health care providers to obtain prescription medications cheaply in an effort to lower overall costs for poor people. A recent paper suggests that the program has expanded beyond its intended uses.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Managed Care Digest Part II
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Today is the second part of our review of this year’s Sanofi Managed Care Digest, with information of drug coverage and other aspects of health benefits.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance
Managed Care Digest Part I
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 21, 2013
Sanofi sponsors the Managed Care Digest Series and just released the 2012-13 edition, which contains a plethora of data on HMOs, PPOs and their use and management of prescription drugs.
Federal Pharmacy Report
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 18, 2013
Allow drug spending growth has slowed, it is still a significant category of cost and adding drug benefits to Medicare and Medicaid has caused concern about how those drugs are paid for. A report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services discusses new methods for reimbursing for drugs.
Tags: Drugs, Government, Health Care Costs
Doctors’ Responses to Patient Drug Requests
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine looks at the association between various physician characteristics and acquiescence to patient drug requests, finding some interesting correlations.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Physicians
Medication Adherence Interventions
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Medication adherence is a serious quality of care issue, although its cost implications are often exaggerated. Research continues apace to understand why people don’t take their drugs and what interventions may work to improve adherence. An Annals of Internal Medicine article summarizes the state of the art.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Quality
CBO on Drug/Medical Cost Interaction
by Kevin Roche on Monday, December 10, 2012
One of the selling points for prescription drugs has been that their use often prevents use of more costly services, like hospitalizations. A new brief from the Congressional Budget Office explores the extent to which that might be true for Medicare beneficiaries.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
2012 Potpourri XXXVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 7, 2012
Our latest Potpourri captures the excitement of the holidays with scintillating items on certificate of need program effects on utilization, the public’s views on health care costs and government’s role in health care, the cost of developing new drugs and a survey on physician compensation.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Physicians, Regulation
The Cost of Medication Non-Adherence
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, December 6, 2012
Medication non-adherence has many causes and is likely a serious quality issue. Capgemini, the consulting group, has released a report claiming that such non-adherence adds hundreds of billions of dollars to our health care spending, and costs drug companies a similarly large amount of revenue.
Tags: Care Management, Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality
Medicare Part B Drug Spending
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, November 21, 2012
The Government Accounting Office examines trends in drug spending in Medicare Part B, which covers drugs administered in a doctor’s office. Looking at the 55 most expensive Part B drugs, GAO found that Medicare accounts for much of the overall spending on these products.
Tags: Drugs, Medicare, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XXXIV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, November 9, 2012
Thank God the election is finally over, but our Potpourri is never-ending, this week bringing you the latest on why comparative effectiveness research results don’t translate to practice, innovations to reduce health spending, the value of medication adherence, factors related to end-of-life quality and MedPAC on new quality measures for avoidable hospital and ER use.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Drugs, End-of-Life Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Hospital, Medicare
KPMG Report on Health System Change
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Another consultant’s report on the American health system, this one from KPMG and focusing on the supposed transformation from a volume-based system to one founded on value. While leaders of health care system participants recognize the likelihood of significant change, they also seem determined not to let their share of health system spending drop.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Providers
Health Insurance Exchanges and Switching Coverage
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Another paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, this one examining consumer behavior in the context of the Medicare Part D exchange and finding that beneficiary inertia seems to result in less than optimal choices and lost savings opportunities.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Insurance Exchange, Medicare
2012 Potpourri XXXIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, November 2, 2012
Another installment of our non-award winning (are there any potential awards?) Potpourri, this one examining drug costs for conditions of aging, self-referral in imaging, in home palliative care at the end-of-life, more on hospital readmissions and retail clinic utilization.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, End-of-Life Care, Health Care Costs, Hospital Readmissions, Physicians, Retail Clinics
Medication Adherence Interventions
by Kevin Roche on Monday, October 8, 2012
Medication adherence is a widespread problem in health care, ranging from failure to even pick up a prescription to failure to follow instructions on when and how to use the drug. A number of interventions have been tried to improve adherence and an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality review seeks to ascertain what evidence there is for effectiveness for these interventions.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Quality
2012 Potpourri XXVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 24, 2012
Yet another brilliant collection of health care data points, including use of gene profiling tests to guide breast cancer care, 30-day mortality models for stroke performance, hospital medication administration errors, the costs of the Medicare physician payment fix and patient-sharing networks among physicians.
Tags: Drugs, Genomics, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Hospital, Medicare, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XXV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 10, 2012
Another wonderful Potpourri, as lovely as a summer day, with information on small physician practices, medication adherence in Medicaid, access to care in Massachusetts, plan loyalty and PHRs, a survey regarding onsite health centers and hospital productivity in Massachusetts after reform.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicaid, Physicians
Reducing Medication Errors at Hospital Discharge
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Medication errors figure prominently in health care spending, and errors after hospital discharge are a cause of readmissions. Recently reported research examined whether an intervention by clinical pharmacists could reduce such errors.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Quality, Hospital
IMS Drug Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
IMS has a tremendous amount of information on prescription drug use and their reports are always worth paying attention to. The latest provides their outlook through 2016, finding steady increases in overall global spending, with less on brand names and more on generic.
Comparative Regulatory Review of Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The New England Journal of Medicine contains an article on the relative review process and outcomes for the FDA, Health Canada, and the European Medicines Agency, with the surprising finding that the FDA is faster than its corresponding agencies.
Tags: Drugs, Government, Regulation
2012 Potpourri XXI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 22, 2012
It is officially the start of summer and our Potpourri is hot, hot, hot, but not steamy! This week we cover why health care IT doesn’t seem to create productivity gains, the use of whole-genome sequencing, the consequences on failure to comply with prescribed drug regimens and the rates of drug misuse and the potential savings for patients in CDHP plans.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Genomics, Health Care Costs, HIT
E-Prescribing Status Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The latest annual report on e-prescribing from SureScripts reveals continued rapid growth. The report also details benefits which appear to flow from greater use of electronic prescribing and opportunities to use the network created by SureScripts to address information sharing in other health care sectors.
Tags: Drugs, HIT, Physicians
Express Scripts Drug Trend Report
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Express Scripts 2011 Drug Trend Report shows very low overall growth in drug spending, but continued sharp increases in the specialty sub-category. The firm presents interesting information and evidence on approaches to increasing medication adherence.
Tags: Drugs
More on Specialty Drug Spending
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Another report that looks at specialty drug spending is issued by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Due to different characteristics of this category, the authors are pessimistic about near-term opportunities to limit spending growth.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Medicare Part D Spending
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Among government health care programs, the Part D prescription drug benefit in Medicare has been extremely successful, costing less than projected. Beneficiaries also are satisfied with the program, which consists of all private plans. A Kaiser report examines Part D spending trends.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
EMD Specialty Digest III
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Our final post on the EMD Serono Specialty Digest, with reference to specialty pharmacy provider trends, oncology and outcomes and comparative effectiveness research.
Tags: Drugs
More from the EMD Specialty Digest
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A continuation of information from the EMD Serono Specialty Digest, with a focus on trends in spending and utilization management.
Tags: Drugs
Latest EMD Specialty Digest
by Kevin Roche on Monday, May 7, 2012
EMD Serono puts out an annual report on specialty drug use that is outstanding. This year’s edition carries on the tradition with a plethora of useful data and charts based on surveys and collection of other data. The report demonstrates that this fast-growing category has attracted new benefit design and utilization management efforts to rein in spending.
Tags: Drugs
PMSI Drug Trend Report
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
PMSI has released its 2012 Drug Trend Report for workers’ compensation business. Medical costs are an increasing portion of workers’ compensation payouts and drug spending, particularly for pain medications, has become an area of greater focus to prevent abuse.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Workplace
Drug Use in the United States in 2011
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, April 12, 2012
The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics has released a wonderful report on use of prescription drugs in the United States in 2011. A great deal of detailed information on therapeutic category, cost sharing and source of prescription dispensing is presented, along with trend information.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Chemotherapy Costs
by Kevin Roche on Monday, April 9, 2012
In general, lower drug costs have helped decrease health spending growth, but specialty drug prices and use, often for cancer, have increased rapidly. New reports show these cost increases are exacerbated by a sift in treatment from physician offices to hospital settings.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Hospital, Physicians
2012 Potpourri XI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 30, 2012
Welcome to another Potpourri of health information, focusing on workers’ comp medical prices, cost-sharing on asthma meds, the Medicare Advantage program, doctors’ experience of quality improvement programs, a review of the last 60 years in health economics and the value of teledermatology.
Tags: Care Management, Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine, Workplace
More on Specialty Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Monday, March 12, 2012
Specialty drug costs are growing very rapidly and in a few years may constitute half of all pharmaceutical spending. A new report from the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute highlights trends in utilization and costs in this health care category.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
2012 Potpourri IX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 9, 2012
Another outstanding collection of summaries from the health research literature, including this week, physicians’ difficulty in understanding the benefits of screening tests, physicians’ feelings about health information technology, AARP’s latest report on prices paid by seniors for commonly used drugs, the real cost of health reform, variation in outcomes and costs of knee replacements and shared decision-making in two common clinical situations.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Elder Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
2012 Potpourri VII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 24, 2012
Our latest Potpourri, a week late and we apologize, covers virtual coaching, the integration of drug and medical benefit management, how doctors chose to handle their own end-of-life care, Medicaid and ER visits, and malpractice and orthopedics.
Tags: Drugs, End-of-Life Care, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Malpractice, Medicaid, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
Regional Variation in Drug Spending
by Kevin Roche on Monday, February 13, 2012
Geographic variation in health care spending is an ongoing controversial topic primarily because the most significant implication is that many physicians have practice patterns that unnecessarily raise costs and changing those patterns could save significant dollars. A New England Journal of Medicine article discusses variation in Medicare drug spending.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
2012 Potpourri VI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, February 10, 2012
This week’s Potpourri focuses on the cost of robotic surgery, the benefits of aspirin compared to more expensive drugs, the benefits of fitness club use, what states and specialties are responsible for the SGR overrun, and the performance of safety-net hospitals on ER quality measures.
Tags: Devices, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Hospital, Physicians
CMS’ Latest Foray Into Drug Pricing
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, February 9, 2012
CMS has issued its latest proposal rule on Medicaid drug pricing and rebates. The proposal doesn’t clear up all areas of uncertainty and will add administrative costs for manufacturers. It will also likely influence the continued shift in how payers reimburse pharmacies.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicaid
The Effects of E-Prescribing
by Kevin Roche on Monday, February 6, 2012
SureScripts, the network which facilitates e-prescribing, released results from a study which showed benefits from use of e-prescribing in terms of better fill rates on prescriptions and better ongoing adherence.
Big Health Care Issues
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 30, 2012
The Wall Street Journal published a special section devoted to big health care issues, with a pro and con format on questions ranging from should there be a health insurance mandate to the potential for accountable care organizations to increase quality and lower costs.
Tags: ACO, Drugs, Health Insurance, HIT, Physicians
2012 Potpourri III
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 20, 2012
Winter is getting long and tedious by now, but our Potpourri offers a welcome respite, with refreshing tidbits on hospital uncompensated care, teledermatology, Medicaid controls of antipsychotic use, Medicare cuts to osteoporosis testing payments, the relationship between primary care access and mortality risk, and where the United States will find cost-savings.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Hospital, Medicaid, Medicare, Telemedicine
2012 Potpourri II
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 13, 2012
Our latest Potpourri reveals details about causes of workplace injuries, the effect of raising the Medicare eligibility age, benefit levels in existing health policies, false claims prosecutions and off-label drug use, ICU staff perceptions of the appropriateness of care, and malpractice liability from clinical decision support systems.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Insurance, HIT, Medicare, Workplace
Specialty Drug Trend
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A new report from Magellan subsidiary iCore provides information on trends in specialty drugs covered under a plan’s medical benefit, indicating that these compounds’ use and cost continues to rise rapidly, providing strong challenges for payers, who often lack good data and tools to manage this pharmaceutical category.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Physicians
2011 Potpourri XXXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 23, 2011
Our penultimate Potpourri delivers the quality you are accustomed to (for good or bad), including presents of health information on the Medicare physician payment method, telemonitoring results in the UK, the effect of eprescribing on fill rates, issues relating to use of health information technology in the home, the effect of social network on health behavior and whether imaging results actually influence decision-making or outcomes. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, HIT, HomeCare, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri XXXXVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 2, 2011
The holiday shopping season is in full swing but our Potpourri is free, filled with useful data on high-deductible health plans and utilization, Medicare Advantage plan Stars bonuses, drug complications and hospitalizations, physician office visit trends, premium increases, and patient expectations.
Tags: Consumer Directed Health, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Medicare, Patient Satisfaction, Physicians
OIG and Drug Pricing
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Pricing for drugs is an arcane world. The Office of Inspector General has attempted to shed light on pricing benchmarks and methodologies and in a new report tries to provide guidance to state Medicaid programs on how to minimize what they pay for drugs used by the programs’ beneficiaries.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Technology and Health Costs
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A new paper at the National Bureau of Economic Research examines the relationship between technology and spending growth in health care. While no firm conclusions are reached, a country’s willingness to spend on health may drive technology development and use rather than vice versa.
Tags: Devices, Drugs, Health Care Costs
Drug Manufacturer Copay Assistance Programs
by Kevin Roche on Monday, November 14, 2011
Drug manufacturers have a new trick up their sleeve to get consumers to use their expensive branded products instead of cheaper alternatives–copay coupon programs. These programs significantly raise spending with no offsetting gain in quality or other benefits. Unfortunately, regulation is probably needed to ban the programs.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
2011 Potpourri XXXXIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, November 4, 2011
Winter nears but our Potpourri will distract you from the cold breezes, providing compelling nuggets on prostate screening recommendations, consumer use of technology for health, insurer medical cost trends, what to do about Medicare’s physician payments, heart failure hospitalization and mortality rates and rates of non-filling of new prescriptions.
Tags: Chronic Disease, Disease Management, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
Specialty Pharmacy
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Specialty drugs have gotten the attention of all payers, with multiple efforts underway to manage the exploding costs associated with this category. A new paper from URAC summarizes the issues and sets out the value of using an accredited specialty pharmacy.
Medicaid Pharmacy Trends
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, October 27, 2011
As Medicaid enrollment continues to grow, and will likely surge in 2014, states are looking for ways to control costs. Pharmacy spending has been an area of focus and a new Kaiser report discusses how states are handling prescription drug issues.
Off-Label Use of Atypical AntiPsychotics
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, October 18, 2011
A Journal of the American Medical Association article, based on work sponsored by AHRQ, reviews the off-label use of atypical antipsychotics, which are usually very expensive and have significant side effects. While there are occasional benefits to such use, adverse events are common, particularly in the elderly.
Tags: Drugs, Elder Care, FDA, Health Care Quality
Pharmacy Benefit Trends
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute releases its most recent survey on prescription drug benefit design and cost issues. While drug spending growth has moderated, the size of the category means it still draws attention and employers and payers continue to refine their strategies for keeping utilization and cost under control.
Tags: Drugs, Health Insurance
2011 Potpourri XXXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, September 30, 2011
We enter the year’s home stretch with a great Potpourri, focusing on comparison friction in Part D plan shopping, a Harris poll on health-related internet use, the effect of aging populations on health costs, creation of a data repository by major insurers, Mercer’s survey of employers on 2012 expected health benefit costs and AHRQ’s site on unintended EHR consequences.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, HIT
FDA Strategic Plan
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Food & Drug Administration releases its strategic plan for regulatory science, identifying priority areas and implementation strategies for each. How the FDA carries out its strategy over the next few years will greatly affect both the medical products industry and overall health spending.
Tags: Devices, Drugs, FDA, Regulation
Use of Cancer Drugs in Medicare
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Two reports from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality detail the use of expensive cancer biologics for Medicare beneficiaries. As for other payers, Medicare expenditures on these compounds has increased rapidly, often for off-label use.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
Part D’s Effect on Overall Spending
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the onset of Part D prescription drug coverage helped reduce relative non-drug spending for those beneficiaries who previously had limited drug coverage.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
2011 Potpourri XXIX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 29, 2011
Our current Potpourri contains nuggets on use of robotic surgery for prostate cancer, the effect of mandated rebates in Medicare Part D on patient costs, FDA guidance on device modifications, state Medicaid EHR incentive programs, patient understanding of trial data, and use of FQHC’s by Medicaid enrollees.
Tags: Devices, Drugs, EHRs, FDA, HIT, HITECH, Medicaid, Medical Care, Medicare
2011 Potpourri XXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 22, 2011
The dog days of summer bring yet another scorching hot Potpourri with a smorgasbord of data, including metabias in randomized clinical trials, the practice of defensive medicine, the status of HIEs, retail pharmacy drug costs and pricing and spending on medical devices.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Devices, Drugs, HIT, Malpractice, Meaningful Use, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians
Drug Week–Reports Part IV
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, July 14, 2011
Our final drug report post discusses releases from Express Scripts, the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute and ESI’s PMSI division, which focuses on workers’ compensation pharmacy. Express Scripts emphasizes behavioral aspects of trend management and the PBMI report examines drug benefits from the employer perspective.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, Workplace
Drug Week–Reports Part III
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Today’s drug trend reports come from Medco and CVS Caremark, two of the largest pharmacy benefit managers. Both experienced relatively low overall trends and both anticipate specialty drug management being the primary challenge in the years ahead.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Drug Week–Reports Part II
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Our next set of drug reports deals with specialty drugs, the most expensive and fastest growing category, and one which has bedeviled payers but many of the drugs are covered under medical benefits. The reports detail usage trends and describe payer management strategies in detail.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance
Drug Week–Part I of Drug Reports
by Kevin Roche on Monday, July 11, 2011
The first analysis of a weeklong series on recent reports related to aspects of the pharmaceutical industry covers IMS’ report giving projections on aspects of global drug use and spending through 2015 and SureScripts release of the most recent statistics on eprescribing use.
2011 Potpourri XXVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 8, 2011
Our current Potpourri features Google’s dropping of its PHR, the AMA’s report on insurer claims paying, the role of health advocacy groups, employer’s intentions in regard to offering health coverage, drug approval in the US versus Europe and the use of a checklist to improve quality in the ICU.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, Health Insurance, HIT, Physicians
Medication Management and Technology
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, June 28, 2011
AHRQ issued yet another detailed, informative evidence review, this one on use of health information technology for medication management purposes. While many studies exist, the strength of the evidence for overall benefit is not as high as would be desirable.
2011 Potpourri XXII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, June 3, 2011
Another round of health tidbits, including the association between primary care workforce and Medicare outcomes, comparisons of Type 2 diabetes drugs, effects of limiting DTC drug advertising, health information exchange sustainability, the effect of the Irish workplace smoking ban and barriers to diffusion of cost-effective care.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Elder Care, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention, Workplace
Evidence and Guidelines for Care
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 17, 2011
An editorial in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy illustrates common pitfalls in creating guidelines based on certain kinds of research and explains why cause and effect can often be wrongly inferred in the absence of randomized trials.
Tags: Care Management, clinical research, Comparative Effectiveness, Drugs
2011 Potpourri XX
by Kevin Roche on Friday, May 13, 2011
Another Potpourri, this week delivering factoids on drug companies’ use of technology to reach physicians, waiting times in Massachusetts, use of atypical antipsychotics in nursing homes, unnecessary colonoscopies, EMRs and productivity, and a stupid FDA ruling.
Tags: Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
ePrescribing Status Report
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 10, 2011
A new report surveyed physician practices on their experience with eprescribing systems, finding that while use was increasing some features were not often accessed because of system design and information adequacy and accuracy concerns.
Tags: Drugs, HIT, Physicians
Off-Label Drug Use
by Kevin Roche on Monday, April 25, 2011
Two pieces of research discuss an example of extensive off-label use of a drug, finding that costs are being raised with little likelihood of an increase in quality of care.
2011 Potpourri XVII
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Easter and welcome to our latest Potpourri, which will raise you up with information on workplace wellness, hospital pricing, clinical decision support systems, using HIT to save on drug development costs, CMS’ quality improvement programs and health care M&A activity.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Hospital, M&A, Pay For Performance, Workplace
US Drug Spending and Use in 2010
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, April 20, 2011
The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics issued a report on drug spending and use in 2010 in the United States. Highlights include a very slow overall rate of growth and continued penetration of generics, which is the major factor in low spending increases.
Tags: Drugs
2011 Potpourri XVI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 15, 2011
Happy Easter and welcome to our spring kickoff potpourri, complete with a survey on technology use by consumers; brand drug pricing; how to get individuals to purchase health coverage; views of the Massachusetts reforms; hospital pay-for-performance and use of PHRs.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Pay For Performance
2011 Potpourri XV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 8, 2011
Our Masters week Potpourri masterfully covers such items as EHR satisfaction, ICU telemedicine, effects of concierge care on Medicare, failure to fill prescriptions, percent of household spending on health care by seniors, and drug rep visits to physicians.
Tags: Drugs, EHRs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality, HIT, Medicare, Physicians, Telemedicine
A Fool’s Potpourri XIV
by Kevin Roche on Friday, April 1, 2011
Every few years April 1st falls on a Friday, allowing us to put out our Potpourri on that day. As you might anticipate, one of our items this week is bogus, and it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out which one.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Insurance, Physicians, Telemedicine
Pharmacogenomics and the FDA
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, March 31, 2011
The FDA issues a draft guidance on the use of clinical pharmacogenomics, in particular the gathering of relevant pharmacogenomic data in early drug development studies.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Personalized Medicine
GAO Update on Drug Prices
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
GAO issued its latest trend report on drug prices, which confirmed that for branded medications prices continue to rise well above the rate of either Medical CPI or general inflation, but generics hold down overall cost rises.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Where is the Drug Money Going?
by Kevin Roche on Monday, March 14, 2011
An AHRQ Statistical Brief examines where drug spending went in 2008, finding that spending was concentrated in five therapeutic categories which accounted for about two-thirds of total outlays.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
2011 Potpourri XI
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 11, 2011
Another in our weekly series of health care nuggets, with this week’s Potpourri featuring Medicare beneficiaries and physician supply, the FDA’s position on certain device software, a wellness survey, the AMA’s stance on genetic testing, marketing of drugs, and an integrated disability and health care program.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, FDA, Genomics, Health Care Quality, Medicare, Mobile, Physicians, Wellness and Prevention
2011 Potpourri X
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 4, 2011
Hopefully winter nears its end; it has been brutal where we are. This week’s Potpourri may offer a little diversion, covering defensive medicine, a pediatric tele-consultation service, home stroke rehabilitation, consumers’ ability to afford care, patient satisfaction and hospital readmission rates and a mobile phone app to improve medication adherence.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Costs, HomeCare, Hospital, Telehealth
Drug Trial Success Rates
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A BIO study looks at the success rates for pharmaceutical and biotech candidates over a multi-year period, finding a fairly low rate, which doesn’t vary much by type of drug or disease addressed.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
2011 Potpourri V
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 28, 2011
On we go, wading through piles of research to arm you with the most relevant snatches of data, this week featuring geographic variation in the quality of drug prescribing; use of Facebook communities for health purposes; physicians’ hourly wages; medication adherence programs; surgical safety improvement; and using survey data to assess patient satisfaction.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Malpractice, Medical Care, Pay For Performance, Physicians, Telemedicine
Medication Adherence Methods
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, January 6, 2011
The high prevalence of medications as the primary method of treatment especially for chronic diseases has led to focus on ensuring that patients take the drugs that are prescribed for them. A review article examines the outcome of research on various intervention programs to encourage adherence.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality
New Year Potpourri or 20ll Potpourri I
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year and a prosperous 2011 to all of you, a prosperity which undoubtedly will be aided by the insights from our Potpourris, which this week include physicians’ use of patient satisfaction data, drugs for children, Medicaid quality measures, health reform provisions taking effect in 2011 and the FDA’s rate of drug approval in 2010.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Health Care Quality, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians
Christmas Potpourri
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 24, 2010
A very happy and relaxing Christmas Eve and Day to all our readers. To aid in the pursuit of that happiness and relaxation we offer up our scraps of enlightenment, this week covering EHR impact on productivity, e-prescribing systems, health insurance rate reviews, not-for-profit hospital executive compensation, Oregon’s state health plan and use of placebos to improve health.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, HIT, Hospital, Meaningful Use, Medicaid, Physicians
Abandoned Prescriptions
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Prescriptions written by doctors and transmitted to pharmacies are not always picked up by patients. New research examines the factors that appear to be linked to, if not causative of, such prescription abandonment.
Tags: Consumers, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Quality
2010 Potpourri XLI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, November 13, 2010
The holidays approach, the Potpourri rolls on, this week unveiling information on potential savings for Medicare and Medicaid dual eligibles; EHR use’s effect on physician revenue; likely physician reaction to the SGR cuts, if implemented; characteristics of California health plan enrollees; CBO’s view of the impact of the reform law on drug prices and a health plan allowing nurse practitioners to be primary care providers.
Tags: Consumer Directed Health, Drugs, HIT, Medicaid, Medicare, Physicians, Providers
Pharmacy Benefit Report
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, November 4, 2010
The annual survey of employers in regard to their prescription drug benefits conducted by the PBMI is out. It reveals lots of interesting information about design and cost trends.
2010 Potpourri XXXIX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 23, 2010
The leaves disappear from the trees but our Potpourri is eternal, this week entertaining you on projected drug spending next year, prescription abandonment rates, avoiding hospitalizations for home care patients, anticipating the effects of the health law on employer-provided health insurance, the NAIC’s final action on the MLR and hospitals views on their ability to achieve the meaningful use incentives.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT
2010 Potpourri XXXVIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 16, 2010
More health care tidbits in this week’s potpourri, including medication adherence; the benefits of workplace wellness programs; the costs to employers of obesity; hospital prices in Oregon; reimbursement methods for drugs and potential savings from health IT.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Providers, Wellness and Prevention
2010 Potpourri XXXVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, October 2, 2010
The days shorten but the potpourri stays strong, this week including information on the safety of FDA-cleared devices; medication adherence; genetic tests; the FDA and CMS working together to review products; state all-payer databases and the increasing control of physician practices by hospital systems.
Tags: Care Management, Devices, Drugs, Health Care Costs, HIT, Hospital, Medicare, Personalized Medicine, Physicians, Regulation
CBO Report on Medicare and Generic Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 1, 2010
A Congressional Budget Office Report finds that Medicare Part D and its beneficiaries have accrued very significant savings, about 55%, from use of generic drugs and that more savings may be available in the near future.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
2010 Potpourri XXXIV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, September 18, 2010
On the menu for this week’s potpourri–savings from wellness efforts for a large employer; drug reimbursement for Medicaid programs; using remote monitoring in a health plan context; the FDA’s regulatory approach to mobile health uses; the effect of tort reform on imaging rates and hepatitis C pay-for-performance measures.
Tags: Disease Management, Drugs, FDA, Health Care Reform, Malpractice, Mobile, Monitoring, Pay For Performance, Wellness and Prevention, Wireless
Medicaid’s Use of Generic Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, September 2, 2010
Medicaid programs, and other third-party payers, can save a lot of money by requiring use of generics when available. Some state laws, however, can significantly inhibit generic use, according to new research in Health Affairs.
Tags: Drugs, Government, Medicaid, Regulation
Reimbursement Changes and Physician Behavior
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, August 26, 2010
It is well-established that physicians respond to various economic incentives by changing their treatment behavior. A recent study explores this phenomenon in the context of Medicare’s cancer chemotherapy drug reimbursement policies.
Tags: Drugs, Medicare, Physicians
2010 Potpourri XXIX
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, August 14, 2010
Another Saturday, another Potpourri, featuring the acquisition of a hospital medical necessity company, Americans’ online health usage, analysis of prescriptions, California workers’ compensation, home monitoring of elderly parents, remote psychiatric evaluations and telemedicine to treat depression.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Elder Care, HIT, HomeCare, Medicare, Monitoring, Telemedicine, Workers Compensation
2010 Potpourri XXVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, July 24, 2010
More midsummer musings, covering possible replacements for AWP, the effect of Part D on heart failure drug use, the VA’s telehealth programs, venture capital activity, self-management of high blood pressure, and of course, more problems with health insurance costs in Massachusetts.
Tags: Drugs, Financings, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Telemedicine
The Effect of Price Regulation on New Drug Development
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, July 21, 2010
For several decades drug companies have taken a beating over their pricing and many governments have limited how those companies charge for their products. A new study suggests that such regulation does limit development of new medicines.
Tags: Drugs, Government
2010 Potpourri XXV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, July 17, 2010
Another week, another potpourri, this time with items on workers’ compensation drug spending, benefit consulting firm mergers, hospital readmissions, geographic variation in spending and use of mobile vans to deliver health care.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Hospital, M&A, Medical Care, Workers Compensation
Medicare and Home Infusion
by Kevin Roche on Monday, June 28, 2010
Home infusion of therapeutic agents is increasing, especially as more biologics, which tend to need infusion, are approved for use. GAO looked at how Medicare FFS handles home infusion versus how private plans do.
Tags: Drugs, Medical Care, Medicare
2010 Potpourri XXIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, June 26, 2010
Once more into the breach with the Saturday health care roundup, including medication adherence, monitoring patients’ health status in their homes, Massachusetts’ reform update and insurance costs, hospitals’ economic contribution, hospital cost shifting and consumers’ views on use of health IT.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, HIT, HomeCare, Hospital, Monitoring, Telemedicine
Geographic Variation in Drug Expenses
by Kevin Roche on Monday, June 21, 2010
Medicare’s Part D benefit covers most prescription drugs and has added significantly to the program’s cost, although not as much as originally projected. Now that the program has been in existence for a few years, researchers looked at whether the same geographic variation in spending exists for drugs as does for other Medicare services.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Medicare
2010 Potpourri XXII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, June 19, 2010
Another weekend bonanza of health care items, including health insurance premium increases, genetic testing, remote patient monitoring, eye drug coverage by Medicare, emergency room use under the reform law and paying people to take their medicine.
Tags: Drugs, FDA, Health Insurance, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Telemedicine
Drug Price Increases
by Kevin Roche on Friday, May 21, 2010
AARP publishes one of its regular updates on drug price increases, this one examining changes in pricing for brand name, generic and specialty drugs commonly used by Medicare beneficiaries in the first quarter of 2010.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Reform
Using Technology to Limit Medication Mistakes
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Errors in medication are far more common than might be imagined and cause serious adverse events. A NEJM article reports on efforts to use technology to limit such errors in hospitals.
2010 Potpourri XVI
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, May 8, 2010
No mother’s day would be complete without some health care news to ruminate on. This week’s include psychiatric drugs, the cost of the SGR fix, home health care costs, telemedicine and using computers to aid in diagnosis.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Health Care Reform, HIT, Medicare, Telemedicine
2010 Potpourri XII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, April 10, 2010
The latest collection of health care tidbits, including telemedicine, physician attitudes, medication adherence, retail clinics, physician value to hospitals and CDHPs.
Tags: Consumer Directed Health, Drugs, Health Insurance, Hospital, Physicians, Telemedicine
Drugs, Drugs, Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, March 18, 2010
While spending on prescription drugs has stabilized over the last few years, it remains a major category of health cost and pharmaceuticals are a critical and effective treatment option for many diseases, especially chronic ones. Several recent articles discuss aspects of drugs and the prescribing process.
Tags: Drugs
2010 Potpourri VIII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Food & Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health have announced an initiative to collaborate on speeding significant research findings into products and clinical use. (FDA/NIH Announcement) Among other things the collaboration will create a leadership council to facilitate reaching its objectives. They also will award $6.75 million for the study of new [...]
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Reform, Malpractice, Retail Clinics, Workplace
Shifts in Drug Marketing Spending
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have spent massive amounts of money on sending sales reps to visit individual physicians and on direct-to-consumer advertising, to the point that this spending is often larger than research and development costs. This spending may be shifting in some companies to more internet-based marketing.
Tags: Drugs, Pharmaceutical
Christmas Potpourri
by Kevin Roche on Friday, December 25, 2009
Happy Holidays, here are a few health care presents for your tree, including defensive medicine, FDA regulation of drug/diagnostic combinations, virtual doctor visits, generic drugs and wireless health. Have a great Christmas.
Tags: Drugs, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Wireless
Potpourri VII
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, December 12, 2009
Mercer surveyed employers to ascertain their reaction to the proposed tax on high value insurance coverage. The majority said they would reduce benefits to avoid the tax. Seven percent said they would outright terminate insurance coverage. Of those saying they would reduce benefits, most would do so by raising deductibles and copays. Employers also narrowly [...]
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, Medical Care, Pay For Performance, Telemedicine
Drug Advertising and Prices
by Kevin Roche on Monday, December 7, 2009
The CBO looks at the characteristics of drug promotion spending and activity. Another study reveals that direct-to-consumer advertising for Plavix did not appear to increase the number of prescriptions but was correlated with a sharp rise in the price of the drug.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs
Thanksgiving Potpourri
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, November 26, 2009
No turkeys here, just stuffing you will relish. Don’t cramvery much into your brain at once!
Tags: Drugs, Health Insurance, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
CBO Looks at Pharmaceutical R & D
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 24, 2009
The CBO released a brief report looking at the potential impact of various changes in federal policies on research and development spending for drugs. Current and future policies are not likely to encourage more R & D.
Tags: Drugs, Government, Pharmaceutical
Potpourri V
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, November 21, 2009
Another summary of miscellaneous health care items, including telemedicine and prevention and wellness.
Tags: Drugs, Telemedicine, Wellness and Prevention
Weekend Potpourri IV
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, November 14, 2009
Another dose of weekend tidbits, covering PAP screenings, health insurer consolidation, Part D plan satisfaction, Rand’s look at the best methods to reduce health care costs, geographic variations in health spending and coughing into cell phones–yes you heard me right.
Tags: Drugs, Guidelines, Health Insurance, Medical Care, Medicare, Pay For Performance
Drugs, Drugs, Drugs
by Kevin Roche on Friday, November 13, 2009
Interesting reports on specialty pharmacy, drug benefits, drug sales and the IMS buyout.
Tags: Drugs
Walgreen’s Quarterly Results
by Kevin Roche on Monday, October 12, 2009
Walgreen’s has reported fiscal fourth quarter results, showing continued prescription growth and highlighting its broader wellness and health management efforts.
Tags: Drugs, Pharmaceutical
Ensuring Drug Safety
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, October 8, 2009
Having taken heat on drug safety, the FDA has issued a new draft guidance on risk mitigation efforts by drug companies.
Tags: Drugs, Government, Pharmaceutical, Regulation
More Personalized Medicine
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 29, 2009
In another personalized medicine development, researchers at UCLA have identified a way to improve depression treatment.
Tags: Drugs, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Pharmaceutical
How Comparative Effectiveness Research Can Increase Costs
by Kevin Roche on Monday, September 28, 2009
A recent drug trial illustrates how comparative effectiveness research may actually facilitate more health care spending.
Tags: Comparative Effectiveness, Drugs, Medical Care, Pharmaceutical
Cherry-Picking Trial Results
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, September 12, 2009
A JAMA article suggests that published trial results may not be giving us the full picture.
Personalized Medicine and Anti-platelet Therapy
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 28, 2009
Pharmacogenomics is at the forefront of personalized medicine development. Recent research indicates promise in anti-platelet therapy guidance.
Tags: Drugs, Genomics, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Pharmaceutical
NEHI Study Estimates Cost of Medication Non-Compliance
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A recent report from NEHI states that medication therapy non-compliance leads to $290 billion in avoidable medical costs every year.
Tags: Care Management, Drugs, Health Care Costs, Pharmaceutical
Understanding the Pharmaceutical Distribution and Payment System
by Kevin Roche on Monday, August 17, 2009
The physical distribution and payment flows for pharmaceuticals in the United States are very complex. A new report helps explain those processes.
Tags: Drugs, Pharmaceutical
PBM Quarterly Reports
by Kevin Roche on Friday, August 7, 2009
The three largest PBMs have issued their second quarter results. All appear to be performing well.
Tags: Drugs, Pharmaceutical
Drug Manufacturers Up to Old Tricks
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Between lobbying and price increases, drug manufacturers are doing a good job of protecting their economic interests.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Reform, Pharmaceutical
Don’t Blame Drugs For Cost Issues
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 10, 2009
The limiting of growth in drug spending is a health care success story.
Tags: Drugs, Health Care Costs, Pharmaceutical
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Four years ago, Medicare Part D was born – today, the program is working better than many expected