Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Health Services Research has decided that studies using logistic regressions should report marginal effects rather than odds ratios. Why did they make this decision? A paper by Norton et al. (2024) identifies 3 key factors. Intelligibility. Consider the case of examining the impact of whether a hospital is in a disadvantaged area on readmission rates.…
The above is the title of a helpful primer from Kenney and Keast (2024). I summarize some key points below. Provide an overview of the pharmacy contracts between stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. How did the rise of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) impact pharmacy contracting? The Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act of1973 spurred the growth…
A de facto number that is used by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is £30,000 per quality adjusted life year (QALY). Some recent literature (Martin et al. 2023) argues for a lower cost-effectiveness threshold (£15,000/QALY or less) based on their marginal cost per QALY (MCPQ) estimates. Alternatively, a paper by Sampson and…
Perhaps more education is needed. That is the conclusion from a paper by Giovatto et al. (2024). The authors conducted an online survey of US prescribers and health system specialty pharmacists practicing in the rheumatology, dermatology, and gastroenterology. Among the 31 prescribers and 44 pharmacists who responded to the survey: Only 16.0% of prescribers and…
Physician access limitations to those with cold or flu in Spain. Big investments in AlphaFold’s AI. Vaccination tipping point? New CMS legislation on prior authorization. Republican candidates on health care.
Generalized risk-adjusted cost effectiveness (GRACE) aims to incorporate risk preferences into standard cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) methods. While traditional CEA assumes individuals are risk neutral, GRACE allows for risk preferences to influence value. Namely, that health gains in more severely ill health states are valued more than equivalent health gains in better health states. But…
Workers Comp total drug spend: $2.9 billion. Will AI increase or decrease firm size? Complex systems models for public health. For-profit hospice saves money. RCT: AI vs. human in and cardiac function assessment.
MDs on biosimilars. Cognitive decline and financial well-being. Copay caps. Maternity care deserts. AI bubble?
Nobody in this world can tell me what to think, but I think everybody has a lesson to teach me. Lex Fridman.
Medical marijuana in Mississippi. Diagnosis and behavioral change. Senators call on CMS to fully cover amyloid-targeted Alzheimer’s drugs. $5.8m penalty for PBM in Massachusetts. Value through the lens of Patients’ Well-Being.