A recent study by Peasah et al published in the Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy has shed light on a promising approach to combat medication non-adherence, a major hurdle in managing chronic diseases. This study investigated the effectiveness of a financial incentive and refill reminder program in improving medication adherence for three commonly prescribed antithrombotic medications: ticagrelor (the antiplatelet group), apixaban, and rivaroxaban (the anticoagulant group). These medications are crucial for preventing blood clots in patients with conditions like heart disease and stroke, but no ..read more

I am happy to be back to writing after a year-long break to celebrate the first year of motherhood! To start off, I have decided to focus on a new study published in JAMA Network Open that explored the potential benefits and return on investment of implementing a lifestyle intervention to reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes. I am back to writing regularly and excited to see progress in post-COVID HEOR landscape.  The aforementioned study  aimed to evaluate the economic feasibility of such interventions and their potential to improve health outcomes for both mother and child. Dr. Lloyd ..read more

What challenges population health decision makers face while managing patients with schizophrenia? What challenges worsened during COVID-19 pandemic? What strategies are recommended by decision makers to mitigate these challenges? My recent paper published in JMCP answers these and other questions. My recent paper titled “Schizophrenia population health management: perspectives of and lessons learned from population health decision makers” published in JMCP shed light on current challenges and barriers population health decision makers face while managing patients with schizophrenia. This mixe ..read more

A new report from researchers at the University of Michigan comprehensively looks at the telehealth trends, adoption, access, cost and quality, and user experience. The report is a work product of research from the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation’s Telehealth Research Incubator and researchers from the University of Michigan.  Covid-19 has resulted in a major surge in telehealth. Prior to Covid-19 pandemic, less than 1% of healthcare clinicians and patients had used telehealth services. However, the researcher notes that telehealth has for the major part been used as a sub ..read more

A recent study published in the JAMA aims to understand the use of medications for OUD and potential indicators of quality of care in multiple US states. The research was conducted by ​​The Medicaid Outcomes Distributed Research Network (MODRN) led by Dr. Julie Donohue, Ph.D., chair and professor of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management. The data was obtained and de-identified from 11 states (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin; including the ..read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) research and its application in various fields is reaching new heights everyday. There are numerous applications of these advanced technology from consumer products e.g. Apples FaceID, Personalization (recommendation systems) and education. A recent research published in Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology investigated ML based approach of measuring and detecting adherence in diabetes patients using once-daily basal insulin injections with an ultimate goal of developing an early alarm system for medication adherence detection.  ..read more

Source of image: https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/defining-value-what-does-term-really-mean Current value frameworks in the US assessing values of pharmaceutical interventions use cost-effectiveness analysis which traditionally compares directs costs and benefits (e.g., quality adjusted life years, life years) between comparators. “Often, these value assessment frameworks use a health system perspective without fully accounting for societal and broader benefits and costs of an intervention.” In my recent paper published in JMCP and conducted in collaboration with co-authors- Dr. Jason Sha ..read more

Rebates is a common pricing technique to incentivize innovation in the scientific field, with  complex outcomes and interesting history. Payers (including government payers) commonly negotiate discounts (rebates) from manufacturers. In recent years, many European countries have negotiated rebates (in many cases confidential rebates) with an ultimate goal of keeping drug prices low and increasing drug access. Does such confidential rebate improve patient-access at a more affordable price?  Using confidential-rebates has little impact on improving patient-access at more affordable pri ..read more

Covid-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on the global health and economic condition. Covid-19 vaccine provides a much needed ‘exit strategy’ from this crisis. It is far from clear on various financing models to develop therapeutics for the health crisis that impacts almost all the countries simultaneously.  Towse et.al. proposes a collaborative, market-based financing model for the world to incentivize and fund for the development, production and access of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine. The paper discusses the “push and pull framework”, first generation covid-19 ..read more

Buprenorphine is prescribed as a treatment for opioid use disorder. A recent study by Cance et. al. published in JAMA examined changes in outpatient dispensing of buprenorphine in Texas during 90 days before and 90 days after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency (March 13, 2020). The changes observed were: Increased Number of patients receiving an outpatient buprenorphine prescription Number of new patients Mean days’ supply per prescription Electronic prescribing Decreased Number of existing patients Total number of outpatient buprenorphine prescriptions  No chang ..read more