Like everyone else who thinks they know something, we can't resist giving some forecasts on what might happen in health care in 2014.
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At its meeting in December the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission considered payment policies and updates for a number of provider types and discussed Medicare Advantage.
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A Deloitte Center for Health Solutions brief dives into more detail on the firm's health consumer segmentation analysis.
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A study in the American Journal of Managed Care looked at specialty drug use in a commercial population from 2000 to 2009, finding that about 1.6% of patients were prescribed a specialty drug, and these drugs represented about 9.3% of overall pharmacy spending. Over the study period specialty drug costs went from about 1% of total health spending to 3.7%, a rate of growth that likely has accelerated, but that the authors view as relatively insignificant in cost control efforts.
http://www.ajmc.com/publications/ajpb/2013/ajpb_2013_nov/The-Role-of-Specialty-Drugs-in-Private-Sector-Healthcare-Spending?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=AJMC&utm_campaign=AJPB+Specialty+12%2D26%2D13A study published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy finds that statin users who have a copay are less likely to be adherent to their prescription and that those who have no copay on other drugs are less likely to adhere to their statin prescription than to the non-copay drugs.
http://www.amcp.org/JMCP/2014/January/17494/1033.htmlAn interesting paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research looks at health in the United States since 1750, tracing the interaction of economic and health gains.
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According to an article in Modern Physician, disenchantment with EHRs among physicians has reached the point where there is concern that many will drop out of the government's meaningful use program.
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20131221/MAGAZINE/312219936/1135?AllowView=VXQ0UnpwQzRDUGFmL1I3TkErT1lBajNja0U4VkNPUmNFQk1EQWc9PQ==Wishing all of you a delightful Christmas Eve and a very Merry Christmas and a great holiday time!! Whatever your religious persuasion or lack thereof, this is a special time of year to reflect on the blessings in our lives, to enjoy the presence of loved ones and to show compassion to the less fortunate. The very best to all of you and thank you for reading.