Tag Archives: pharmacy

How Trump’s new drug proposal may impact older adults

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Photo: Jen R via Flickr

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Director Seems Verma are crisscrossing the country to tout the Trump administration’s plan to combat prescription drug prices. They promise that America’s Patients First, released by the president and HHS on May 11, will address significant roadblocks to lowering drug costs.

People age 65 and older account for 34 percent of all prescription medication use and 30 percent of all over-the-counter drugs purchased, according to this Medscape article. Azar, a former drug company executive, recently spoke with reporters and other stakeholders to promote the plan, saying that high prescription costs seriously threaten too many Americans’ health and wellbeing. Continue reading →

Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.

Journalists learn about intricacies of prescription drug pricing

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Photo: Phillip Bradshaw via Flickr

Many Americans think they pay too much for their prescription drugs, especially those who need life-saving medications for cancer and hepatitis C. Why are drug costs so high in the United States? How can reporters better explain the cost squeeze to their audiences?

These were among the questions that Sarah Emond, M.P.P., executive vice president at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) in Boston and Peter Bach, M.D., director of the Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes in New York City addressed at the Feb. 15  meeting of AHCJ’s New York chapter. Dan Goldberg of Politico moderated the session. Continue reading →

Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.

Pharmacy access story gains stronger local angle from inventive use of study’s own data

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Photo: Ben Husmann via Flickr

Photo: Ben Husmann via Flickr

Local pharmacies have limited hours? Turns out that this is way more than an inconvenience. It may also be a factor in hospital readmissions. Patients who can’t easily get their medications from an accessible, nearby – and open! – pharmacy are more likely to end up back in the hospital.

Experts have been exploring possible reasons why so many patients bounce in and out of the hospital, and why it’s been hard to bring down the 30-day readmission rates, even with new financial incentives under the Affordable Care Act. Continue reading →

Contributing editor to Politico Magazine and former health care editor-at-large, Politico, Commonwealth Fund journalist in residence and assistant lecturer at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Reopening of CVS store highlights health access issues in Baltimore

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Photo: Vladimir Badikov via Flickr

Photo: Vladimir Badikov via Flickr

When Baltimore erupted last spring in the wake of the death of a young black man in police custody, the destruction and looting of one neighborhood CVS Pharmacy quickly became a symbol of the chaos.

Now, as the legal proceedings in the case of Freddie Gray continue, a small part of the Maryland city has healed with the reopening of the store on March 6. Continue reading →

Susan Heavey, (@susanheavey) a Washington, D.C.-based journalist, is AHCJ’s topic leader on social determinants of health and curates related material at healthjournalism.org. She welcomes questions and suggestions on resources and tip sheets at determinants@healthjournalism.org.

Program uses pharmacists to help manage complex health needs

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Photo: Mikey G Ottawa via Flickr

Photo: Mikey G Ottawa via Flickr

As the Department of Health and Human Services continues its shift towards an outcomes-based payment model, one small health system is working with its pharmacists to create an innovative disease management initiative to minimize hospital readmissions and improve health status for its most complex – and costly – patients.

The Comprehensive Health Management program developed by Martin Health System in Stuart, Fla., establishes a progressive role for pharmacists to work directly with older, chronically ill patients. Integrating these neighborhood-based professionals into the system’s primary care practices improves management of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart and lung disease, according to David Harlow, Pharm.D., assistant vice president for professional services, clinical imaging, clinical laboratory, clinical pharmacy and disease management at Martin. Continue reading →

Liz Seegert is an independent health journalist and AHCJ’s topic leader on aging. She covers older adults, baby boomers, health policy, and social determinants of health, as well as many other health issues. Her bylines include stories for PBS/NextAvenue.org. the American Journal of Nursing, TIME Health, Medscape, Consumer Reports, and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, the Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.