The American journal of managed care
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an underdiagnosed genetic disorder, resulting from mutations in sarcomeric proteins. It has a highly variable clinical presentation, with some individuals remaining asymptomatic and others having significant limitation of functional status. The disorder is typically characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy that is not explained by another cause. ⋯ To-date, there are no pharmacologic therapies that alter the natural history of the disease. Therapeutic approaches have instead focused on symptom relief and prevention of sudden cardiac death. Newer therapies under investigation represent potential means to improve limiting symptoms.
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A lack of therapeutically targetable molecular alterations and its aggressive nature make triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) a challenging disease. Chemotherapy is standard of care for most patients with metastatic disease, but median overall survival is less than 18 months. Unravelling the molecular underpinnings of TNBC revealed it to be a potentially highly immunogenic subtype within a more broadly immunologically inert cancer type, suggesting that it may respond to immunotherapy. ⋯ Two FDA-approved companion diagnostic PD-L1 assays are available to identify patients eligible for immunotherapy treatment, but other biomarkers of response are also being examined. Ongoing clinical trials are also evaluating a range of targeted therapies as combination partners, which may have immunomodulatory effects in addition to their main mechanism of action, complementing the activity of ICIs. This article will evaluate the current and emerging clinical trends in the use of ICIs as part of combination regimens in the treatment of patients with metastatic TNBC.
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Proponents of a single-payer or public option health care system often cite the lower administrative expenses in public Medicare compared with those in private Medicare, claiming that this difference represents efficiency. We check the validity of this comparison in terms of accuracy and definitions and suggest expanding its scope to include expanded financial data of the 2 Medicare systems. ⋯ Comparisons of the systems in the United States would benefit from expanding the focus beyond incomparable administrative expenses. For the current period of coronavirus disease 2019, if the trends continue, public Medicare may suffer greater deficits relative to the private Medicare Part C.
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is often seen in patients as an autosomal dominant genetic heart disease with a variable clinical course. It is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, and with some patients, there is no evidence of a genetic etiology or presence of HCM in family members. Young age at diagnosis and the presence of a pathogenic or likely pathogenic sarcomere variant predict greater lifelong risk for stroke, heart failure, ventricular arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation, or mortality. ⋯ Although not yet approved by the FDA, cardiac myosin inhibitors have recently shown promise in clinical trials to treat the underlying pathology of HCM. If approved by the FDA, managed care pharmacists should be ready to assess their safety and efficacy to improve the clinical burden and quality of life of those affected by HCM and reduce medical costs for these patients against standard of care. Long-term safety and efficacy data showing reductions in hospitalizations, morbidity, and mortality will be needed to determine their actual utility in managing HCM and ultimate place in therapy.
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Medicaid managed care organizations are developing comprehensive strategies to reduce the impact of opioid use disorder (OUD) among their members. The goals of this study were to develop and validate a predictive model of OUD and to predict future OUD diagnosis, resulting in proactive, person-centered outreach. ⋯ We built the necessary machine learning infrastructure to identify members with greater than 50% probability of developing OUD. The generated list strategically informs and guides person-centered care and interventions. Through application of these results, we strive to proactively reduce OUD-related structural barriers and prevent OUD from occurring.