Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy
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J Manag Care Spec Pharm · Apr 2014
Economic burden of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation: a retrospective analysis of health care costs in a commercially insured population.
The prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) is estimated to be between 4.3% and 5.2% among adults in the United States. Little is known about the health care resource utilization and costs associated with IBS-C. ⋯ IBS-C imposes a substantial economic burden in terms of direct health care costs in a commercially insured population. Compared with matched controls, IBS-C patients incurred significantly higher total annual all-cause health care costs even after controlling for general and GI-related comorbidities. Incremental all-cause costs associated with IBS-C were mainly driven by costs related to more frequent use of medical services as opposed to prescriptions.
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J Manag Care Spec Pharm · Apr 2014
ReviewCurrent and future roles of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in advanced melanoma.
Melanoma is an aggressive disease that accounts for approximately 75% of skin cancer-related deaths. Historically, treatment options for patients with advanced stage melanoma have been limited by modest response rates and failure to improve overall survival. The treatment landscape for advanced stage melanoma was revolutionized in 2011 with the approval of ipilimumab and vemurafenib, both of which improved overall survival in phase III clinical trials. More recently, the targeted inhibitors dabrafenib and trametinib have demonstrated similar therapeutic profiles. ⋯ The immunotherapy ipilimumab and the MAPK-targeted inhibitors vemurafenib, dabrafenib, and trametinib have forever changed the treatment landscape for melanoma. Indeed, these new therapies have demonstrated long-term improvement in patient outcome, a benefit not afforded by traditional therapeutics. Important research continues on the molecular basis of melanoma, and new targets are likely to emerge. Other areas of work include optimization of sequencing and/or combination of current treatments, which may increase the number of patients who experience clinical benefit.
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J Manag Care Spec Pharm · Apr 2014
Health care resource utilization following initiation of a triptan: a retrospective claims analysis.
23 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, incurring more than $1 billion in direct medical costs each year (with another $13 billion in indirect productivity losses). Triptans are the most common treatment of choice for these patients; however, adherence and persistence to triptans are poor. Partly due to poor adherence to therapy, the ability of triptans to reduce the utilization of other medical services and prescription drugs remains unclear. ⋯ Contrary to the findings of some previous research, the initiation of triptan therapy did not significantly reduce the utilization of migraine-related medical services or other relevant prescription drugs in this retrospective claims analysis. This may have been due to higher and more realistic rates of triptan switching and discontinuation. Consistent with previous findings, patients using concomitant opioids used more migraine-related health care resources.