The American journal of managed care
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Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be very costly. Cost-effectiveness studies provide insight into the value of treatment from a number of perspectives (eg, societal, healthcare). In most cases, the indirect costs of RA can offset the direct costs in 2 ways. ⋯ Despite the effectiveness of new therapies, there are a number of barriers to optimal treatment. Barriers include lack of education for patients and practitioners about RA, poor patient-provider communication, uncertainty regarding which treatments to choose, cost, and lack of adherence. Specialty pharmacy and disease therapy management programs can assist patients by providing structure, education, and mechanisms to improve treatment adherence and persistence to optimize therapy.
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Observational Study
The option value of innovative treatments in the context of chronic myeloid leukemia.
To quantify in the context of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) the additional value patients receive when innovative treatments enable them to survive until the advent of even more effective future treatments (ie, the "option value"). ⋯ The option value of innovative treatments has significance in the context of CML and, more broadly, in disease areas with rapid innovation. Incorporating option value into traditional valuations of medical innovations is both a feasible and a necessary practice in health technology assessment.
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As a prevalent, complex disease, diabetes presents a challenge to managed care. Strategies to optimize type 2 diabetes care management and treatment outcomes have been evolving over the past several years. ⋯ In addition, designing the pharmacy benefit to emphasize the overall value of treatment and minimize out-of-pocket expenses for patients can be an effective approach to reducing prescription abandonment. The implementation of emerging models of care that encourage collaboration between providers, support lifestyle changes, and engage patients to become partners in their own treatment also appears to be effective.