News
New Measure List Previews CMS Priorities
December 2021
In early December, CMS released the 2021 Measures Under Consideration (MUC) list. The MUC List identifies the quality and efficiency measures under consideration by CMS for use in certain Medicare quality programs. As such, the list previews priority areas for CMS’s value-based care programs in the future, many of which are relevant to Real Chemistry’s…
Issues with Enhanced Longevity Among Patients with Beta-Thalassemia
November 2021
The annual incidence of beta-thalassemia is approximately 1 in 100,000 with significant regional variations globally. It has decreased over time especially with the introduction of national-wide screening programs. In Taiwan, the prevalence decreased from 5.6 in 1994 to 1.2 per 100,000 births in 2002. The diagnosis of beta-thalassemia may entail life-long regular transfusion for survival…
Expanding Pharmacy Personnel Scope of Practice to Increase Adult Pneumococcal Vaccination Coverage Rates at a State-level
November 2021
Previous research has demonstrated that increasing scope of practice for pharmacists has been shown to have an impact on vaccine coverage rates. However, it has yet to be explored if there is an association between vaccine coverage rates and other personnel within the pharmacy, such as pharmacy technicians, students, and interns. Therefore, Discern Health, Real…
CMS’s Innovation Center Refreshes Strategy
November 2021
CMS’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) took a 10 year look back for key lessons learned, challenges encountered, and what a strategy refresh would need to incorporate. The strategy refresh includes five strategic objectives that expects models that would continue or to be introduced to be driving accountable care, advancing health equity, supporting…
Comprehensive Support for the Seriously Ill: Developing a Home- and Community-Based Palliative (HCBP) Care Model in Arizona
October 2021
Serious illness impacts an estimated 45 million Americans and their families/caregivers. Defined as “one or more chronic conditions that limit personal function and are likely to worsen rather than get better,” serious illness costs the US health care system nearly 1 trillion dollars a year, making up almost 60% of health care expenditures. People with serious illness…
CMS Programs Provide Numerous Opportunities to Define and Improve Quality
October 2021
At times, the “alphabet soup” of Medicare quality programs can be confusing and intimidating. MIPS. MVPs. IAs. What does it all mean? While they take some effort to understand, Medicare’s programs provide numerous opportunities for public input. Discern Health works with clients to navigate these opportunities and has achieved significant results for both chronic and…
Access to Obesity Prevention and Treatment Improves Health Equity
October 2021
Obesity prevention and treatments remain underused even as the disease remains a primary risk factor for chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even COVID-19 severity that disproportionately affect minority and underserved populations. Reimbursement or insurance coverage for medications, procedures, and programs to treat and prevent obesity varies and can create additional barriers to…
Incentive Structures During Negotiation Has Significant Impact on Outcomes
October 2021
Value-based pricing (VBP) of pharmaceuticals has exciting potential to impact societal goals such as timely access to novel treatments or incentivizing research to improve patient outcomes. Researchers ran an online experiment to examine the impact of the negotiation situation for life-extending drugs on societal outcomes. Participants were randomly assigned into four treatment groups for a…
Social Media Deliver Pitfalls and Positives for Pharmas Engaging Cancer Community
October 2021
Pharma companies today can reach cancer patients and physicians more easily than ever thanks to social media—but should they? Yes, but prepare for both pitfalls and positives, say Real Chemistry’s researchers Theresa Schmidt and Justin Kerley in a recent FiercePharma article. While pharma companies can build more direct connections to cancer community members, marketers also need to…
Using Patient-Reported Measures in Value-Based Payment Models to Promote Patient-Centered Cancer Care
September 2021
In April 2021, researchers at the National Pharmaceutical Council and Discern Health published an article in the Journal of Clinical Pathways that offers recommendations to the Biden administration to make cancer care more patient-centered. In a related video, Theresa Schmidt, Vice President, Discern Health and Kimberly Westrich, Vice President of Health Services Research, National Pharmaceutical…