Methodological standards for comparative effectiveness research: considerations for evidentiary review for medicare drug price negotiation.

Introduction: The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is expected to result in lower drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries in the United States (US). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the most recent draft guidance for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation (DPN) program in May 2024.

Areas Covered: In August 2023, the list of 10 drugs selected for the DPN were published and the first round of negotiations are now complete.

Gastric Antral Vascular Ectasia Syndrome With Aortic Stenosis: A Twist on Heyde Syndrome?

Heyde syndrome is a triad of aortic stenosis (AS), gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding from angiodysplasia, and acquired von Willebrand disease (vWD). It is hypothesized that stenotic aortic valves cleave von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimers, predisposing patients to bleeding from GI angiodysplasias. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that aortic valve replacement often leads to the resolution of GI bleeding.

Proactive esophageal cooling during radiofrequency cardiac ablation: data update including applications in very high-power short duration ablation.

Introduction: Proactive esophageal cooling reduces injury during radiofrequency (RF) ablation of the left atrium (LA) for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). New catheters are capable of higher wattage settings up to 90 W (very high-power short duration, vHPSD) for 4 s. Varying power and duration, however, does not eliminate the risk of thermal injury.

Strengths And Weaknesses Of Introducing An Inflation Factor Into The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.

Unlike most other Medicare fee schedules, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule does not include an automatic inflation update. We describe the history of Physician Fee Schedule update systems and present paradigms for evaluating the merits of adding an inflation-based adjustment factor to the schedule's updating formulas. We adopt an incentive paradigm, which emphasizes how access to care and the consolidation of health care facilities are affected by fees.