Tag: prescription drug

PBMs Come Under Fire During Senate Hearing

PBMs Come Under Fire During Senate Hearing

MedCity News

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) took a hit from lawmakers during a Thursday hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee, with some questioning why the drug middlemen are even necessary.
“The way I see the situation on PBMs, I don’t know why the hell they even exist,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. “They were set up with all the right reasons … But what I see them doing in my state, I don’t think the consumer gets much benefit and they’re shutting down small businesses on main street right and left and those are called our local neighborhood pharmacies.” The hearing discussed how…

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The Federal Trade Commission Accuses GoodRx Of Multiple Data Sharing Fails, Demands It Pay $1.5 Million Fine and Make Reforms

The Federal Trade Commission Accuses GoodRx Of Multiple Data Sharing Fails, Demands It Pay $1.5 Million Fine and Make Reforms

Healthcare IT Today

The Federal Trade Commission has cited telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx for sharing sensitive consumer health data with several advertising platforms, in violation of its own privacy promises to consumers.
The agency has filed a proposed order demanding that GoodRx pay $1.5 million in civil penalties for failing to let consumers know about unauthorized disclosures of its data to a list of advertiser platforms. including Facebook and Google.
The company, which is based in California, operates a digital health platform offering prescription drug discounts, telehealth visits and other health services. It captures a wide range of data from consumers who use…

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HHS Aims To Reduce Prescription Drug Costs Through 3 New Models

HHS Aims To Reduce Prescription Drug Costs Through 3 New Models

MedCity News

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) unveiled three new models Tuesday that will be tested by the CMS Innovation Center and aim to lower prescription drug costs. The models include access to $2 generic drugs.
The news is in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order issued in October, which directed HHS to find ways to lower prescription drug costs and improve access to drug therapies for those enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid health plans. The models are meant to build on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for…

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Missouri drug monitoring program taps Bamboo Health for operations

Missouri drug monitoring program taps Bamboo Health for operations

Healthcare IT news

Every state but Missouri has operated a statewide prescription drug monitoring program for years. Now, the Show-Me state has come around to see the value of more advanced tracking controlled substances among registered providers.WHY IT MATTERS
Bamboo Health, which develops technologies for behavioral health and substance use disorders, says it will transition the existing Saint Louis County PDMP, which covers about 85% of the state, to a new statewide PDMP – without a complicated data migration process.
The state of Missouri will pay $1.4 million to operate Missouri’s new statewide PDMP, which will absorb the county’s data, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 
St….

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Vendor Notebook: new tools and acquisitions from OptumRx, ScionHealth, others

Vendor Notebook: new tools and acquisitions from OptumRx, ScionHealth, others

Healthcare IT news

It’s a new year, and healthcare technology vendors are rolling out their latest innovations, market approvals, acquisitions and staffing shake-ups.OptumRx launched Price Edge, a tool that compares pricing for traditional generic drugs to ensure members get the lowest prescription drug prices. A suite of new tools for both patients and providers target aspects of pharmacy logistics that have been known to delay or complicate care, such as getting real-time pharmacy benefits information and obtaining prior authorizations. In October, Optum, UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy services company, merged with data clearinghouse Change Healthcare. The U.S. Department of Justice tried to block the merger and is appealing the…

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What's ahead for health IT policy and legislation in 2023 

What’s ahead for health IT policy and legislation in 2023 

Healthcare IT news

With Congress providing telehealth waivers as part of its omnibus spending bill at the close of 2022, delaying the “telehealth cliff” for two years, HIMSS says it’s now ready to make the case for permanent reimbursement of virtual care.Also on its policy agenda for the year ahead: advocating for data standardization, offering input for interoperability rulemaking and engaging with agencies and states to increase telehealth access. We spoke with the HIMSS government relations team for their thoughts on those priorities and more in 2023 and beyond.
Making telehealth’s case for cost control
Telehealth has proven to reduce burdens on healthcare providers and improve…

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Needle moving on drug monitoring program efficacy, ONC says

Needle moving on drug monitoring program efficacy, ONC says

Healthcare IT news

A new brief from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology data says that one-third of prescribers now access prescription drug-monitoring programs through their electronic health records and 62% reported they used electronic prescribing of controlled substances technologies often – up from 37% in 2019.WHY IT MATTERS
“The use of (PDMPs) and electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) technology is critical to improving opioid prescribing practices, informing treatment decisions and supporting safe and effective patient care,” wrote Chelsea Richwine and Jordan Everson in a new HealthIT blog post.
They say the new data adds to previous analyses demonstrating the benefits of the systems by…

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