Primary Care News and Research

Latest Primary Care News and Research

PDI awarded contract sales engagement with Top 5 pharmaceutical company

PDI, Inc., a leading provider of sales and marketing support to U.S. health care companies, has been awarded a significant contract sales engagement with a Top 5 pharmaceutical company. This program is expected to generate approximately $6 million in revenue for PDI during the first quarter of 2010 and may extend through the remainder of 2010.

24 Dec 2009

FDA issues Pfizer a Complete Response letter for Lyrica GAD monotherapy treatment

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Complete Response letter regarding the company’s New Drug Application (NDA) for Lyrica® (pregabalin) capsules CV as a monotherapy treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The FDA determined that the data contained in the NDA were insufficient to support approval.

24 Dec 2009

Postnatal depression treatments are not cost effective, say York researchers

Routine screening for postnatal depression in primary care - as recommended in recent guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) - does not appear to represent value for money for the NHS, researchers at the University of York have concluded.

23 Dec 2009

Bishops urge Congress and the Administration to fashion health care reform legislation

The current health care reform bill is "deficient" and should not move forward without "essential changes," the chairmen of three committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said December 22.

23 Dec 2009

Declining use of Advair for COPD, Spiriva patient share increasing

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that since the 2008 retrospective analysis of patient-level claims data, Boehringer Ingelheim/Pfizer's Spiriva has closed the gap in patient share between itself and GlaxoSmithKline's Advair in newly diagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. Although Advair's patient share in the first line is still greater than Spiriva's, Spiriva has surpassed Advair in the second line and will continue to overcome and widen the gap between itself and Advair over the next two years.

22 Dec 2009

AMA backs latest Senate bill

Senate Democrats were bolstered Monday by the endorsement of the American Medical Association as they push for a final vote this week on their health overhaul legislation, Bloomberg reports. "The bill advances many of our priority issues for achieving the vision of a health system that works for patients and physicians," the AMA's president-elect, Dr. Cecil Wilson, said in endorsing the most recent version of the Senate bill, proposed over the weekend by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (Salant and Donmoyer, 12/22).

22 Dec 2009

New Medicare Advantage PPO plan launched by Clear One Health Plans

Clear One Health Plans, Inc. introduces its new Medicare Advantage PPO plan, the first plan to include both out-of-network coverage and in-network coverage in Central Oregon, Southern California, and Arizona.

22 Dec 2009

ONE launches clinical software and business services for medical billing companies and physician groups

The Power of One (ONE) today announced simple but powerful clinical software and business services for radiology, anesthesiology, cardiology, pathology and multi-specialty physician groups. ONE offers its software and services to medical billing companies, academic hospitals, and an array of hospital and office-based practices, including individual and group practices in the Northeast. ONE's purpose is to allow physicians, practices and medical billing companies to take control of their increasingly adverse environment.

22 Dec 2009

Rural Health Institute receives funds to expand telemedicine in rural Alabama

The University of Alabama's Rural Health Institute for Clinical and Translational Science has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program to expand telemedicine efforts in rural Alabama.

22 Dec 2009

HQP enters into agreement with Aetna to provide nurse care management services

Health Quality Partners (HQP) has entered into a three-year agreement with Aetna to provide nurse care management services to Aetna Medicare Advantage Plan members with certain chronic health conditions who receive their care at participating practices in Bucks, Montgomery, Lehigh and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania.

22 Dec 2009

AMA supports amended Senate health system reform bill

The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced its support for passage of the amended Senate health system reform bill (H.R. 3590). Passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by the Senate will bring our nation close to the finish line on health system reform.

22 Dec 2009

New West Physicians to provide health care services for Humana members

New West Physicians, a primary care group practice in the metro Denver area serving more than 250,000 patients, will now provide health care services to individuals and families enrolled in a commercial health plan with Humana Inc., under terms of a long-term agreement announced today.

21 Dec 2009

BAE Systems signs agreement with Marathon Health to provide onsite health services

Marathon Health today announced that BAE Systems has signed an agreement with Marathon Health to provide integrated, onsite health services for BAE Systems employees at BAE Systems' Kingsport, TN location.

21 Dec 2009

Fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2009 results announced by Prospect Medical Holdings

Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., which owns and operates five community-based hospitals and manages the medical care of approximately 177,000 HMO enrollees in southern California, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter and year ended September 30, 2009.

21 Dec 2009

Direct primary care amendment may offer affordable health care options for Americans

The U.S. Senate today made an important step that could expand health care coverage to more Americans while simultaneously reducing costs. The Manager's Amendment, introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) this morning, includes a provision that would allow flat-fee direct primary care practices, in which patients pay a flat fee for primary and preventive care, to compete in the proposed insurance exchange. This will provide Americans more affordable health care options beyond traditional insurance.

21 Dec 2009

Data released by CIHI supports CNA's vision on nursing and health

A growing number of registered nurses (RNs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) are working in positions of first point of contact between patients and the health-care system, helping improve patient access to primary care and driving down wait times.

19 Dec 2009

$4.2M Medicare fraud: Three Detroit-area residents plead guilty

Jackson, Mich., resident Terrence Hicks and Detroit residents Muhammed Al Mahdi and John Saunders pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan this week for their roles in a $4.2 million Medicare fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg of the Eastern District of Michigan, Special Agent in Charge Andrew G. Arena of the FBI's Detroit Field Office and Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today.

19 Dec 2009

Medica's clinic-based chronic care management program delivers promising results

Medica’s clinic-based chronic care management program with six clinic partners shows that focusing on care coordination is beginning to deliver promising results. A recent program evaluation reported that members participating in the clinical pilots had 1 percent more doctor visits and 3 percent more prescription fills than members with similar conditions seen in traditional clinic settings.

19 Dec 2009

UCSF/SFGH project to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients honored

A UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital project that used a novel communication tool to improve health outcomes among diabetes patients was honored recently with a quality leadership award from the California Health Care Safety Net Institute.

18 Dec 2009

Roundup of health policy research and analyses

Urban Institute/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: What Would Health Care Reform Mean for Small Employers and Their Workers? - "Small employers and their workers face a broad assortment of barriers to obtaining health insurance coverage today," such as "high administrative costs, limited ability to spread health care risk, and a low-wage workforce."

18 Dec 2009