Health Plans’ Prescribing Restrictions Undercut Migraine Treatment
On top of debilitating pain and widespread stigma, patients with migraine now face another challenge. If they want preventive treatment, they must first find a physician that their health plan will allow to prescribe it.
The Orphan Drug Disconnect
Decades after Congress passed the Orphan Drug Act, only about 10 percent of patients with rare diseases actually receive treatment with orphan drugs, a new report finds.
What’s Human Milk Good For?
Dubbed “liquid gold,” human milk offers a nutritional elixir for infants. And that has researchers asking an intriguing question: How else could human milk be used to optimize health?
2018 in Review: 6 Trends that Impacted Patient Access
Before ringing in the new year, the Institute for Patient Access takes a look back at the policy trends that shaped health care access in 2018.
New Medicare Cost-Cutting Proposal Would Hurt Older Adults but Recognizing Pharmacists would Help
The newest proposal to cut prescription drug costs could strip important protections for already vulnerable patients, especially those living in long-term care facilities.
New IfPA Policy Paper Warns about Non-Medical Switching of Botulinum Neurotoxins
Patients with a range of conditions from chronic migraine to overactive bladder can achieve relief from a medication called a “botulinum neurotoxin.”
The Grinch who Stole Medicare
In a storyline reminiscent of holiday favorite “The Grinch,” the Trump administration seems to be using the season of giving to plot the theft of something Americans hold dear – seniors’ Medicare, in this case.
Are Employers on the Hook for Co-Pay Accumulators’ Harm?
Most patients aren’t familiar with the term “co-pay accumulator,” or its effect. But they should be, advises a new report from the Alliance for the Adoption of Innovations in Medicine.
A Cardiologist’s Take on New Cholesterol-Lowering Guidelines
New clinical guidelines for cholesterol treatment could be a good thing for both physicians and patients, so long as they are used properly.
Summit on Balanced Pain Management Urges Interdisciplinary Approach
Before Justin Minyard was keynote speaker at this week’s fifth annual National Summit on Balanced Pain Management in Washington, DC, he was a respondent at the Pentagon on September 11. A high-level interrogator serving the United States Army during tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. And a prime example of why comprehensive, integrative pain management is critical.
