Articles
I will say right up front that I am all in favor of specialty pharmacy training and the subsequent board certification. The real questions are: how much training is enough? how much is too much? and what options are available? I’ve been in the oncology business for over 30 years now and began when there was no real specialty training to speak of. In fact, my introduction into the specialty just happened; it wasn’t planned at all. I wanted to stay in Madison, Wisconsin, when I finished my hospital pharmacy residency, but I was actually more interested in emergency care. Read More ›
Dr Hansen’s article brings to light financial aspects of healthcare that we do not often consider. A recent economic analysis showed the total cost of cancer care in the US reached $209.9 billion in 2005.1 The high costs of chronic cancer care come in second to cardiac disease (23% and 38%, respectively).2,3 However, increased costs do not yield longer life. Read More ›
It is well documented that healthcare costs and spending have been growing at staggering rates. Healthcare accounts for ~17% of total gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States. In comparison, in 1960, healthcare only accounted for about 5% of GDP. Our current level of spending is nearly double the average percentage of GDP of every other country in the world. Total healthcare spending comes from many sources, including but not limited to hospital care, physician and clinical services, nursing home care, administrative costs, and prescription drugs. Read More ›
The evolution of drug research and development toward oral therapies for cancer over the past decade has created a number of questions for the oncology healthcare provider. Will insurance companies pay for these exceptionally expensive medications? How and when will patients receive their medication? Who will be responsible for ensuring patient education and monitoring to maximize safe drug administration and patient compliance? Read More ›
Recent economic challenges resulted in cutbacks in personal healthcare spending among continuously insured Americans, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. These insured patients underwent fewer screening colonoscopies, a cost-effective, recommended preventive service, during the recession.
The study appears in the March issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Read More ›Researchers have found that a new drug for metastatic melanoma nearly doubles the median survival time for patients with a common genetic mutation.
The data come from an international phase 2 study of the drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib). More than half of the 132 patients who were treated with the novel agent responded to treatment and experienced a median overall survival of almost 16 months. Patients with this advanced form of melanoma, in which the cancer has spread to other organs, typically survive about 9 months.
Read More ›The new healthcare law’s Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program is providing insurance to thousands of people with high-risk preexisting conditions. The US Department of Health and Human Services recently reported how PCIP is helping to fill a void in the insurance market.
Read More ›A recent study shows that women who received a combination breast cancer chemotherapy regimen referred to as CMF between 1976 and 1995 performed worse on cognitive tests compared with women who never had cancer. The subtle differences in performance were statistically significant and occurred primarily in word learning and memory and information processing speed.
The findings, published February 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate that cognitive problems may be observed 20 years following chemotherapy treatment.
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