What Will Value-Based Drug Pricing Look Like By 2030? Experts Share 4 Predictions

What Will Value-Based Drug Pricing Look Like By 2030? Experts Share 4 Predictions

Editor’s note: This story is based on discussions at Abarca Forward, a conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, hosted by Abarca, a pharmacy benefit manager. MedCity News’ Editor-in-Chief Arundhati Parmar and Senior Reporter Katie Adams were invited to attend and speak at the conference. All travel and related expenses for the team were covered by Abarca. However, company officials had no input in editorial coverage. 
The U.S. healthcare systems spent a whopping $301 billion on specialty drugs in 2021, a 43% increase since 2016. These specialty drugs accounted for half of the year’s total drug spending, and the list prices for specialty…

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Apellis Drug Becomes First Approved Therapy for Vision-Loss Disorder Geographic Atrophy

Apellis Drug Becomes First Approved Therapy for Vision-Loss Disorder Geographic Atrophy

Geographic atrophy, an eye disorder that starts as a loss of central vision and progressively worsens to total blindness, now has its first treatment. The FDA on Friday approved an Apellis Pharmaceuticals drug that slows the progression of this disease, which affects more than 1 million people in the U.S.
Approval of the Apellis drug, pegcetacoplan, covers all patients with geographic atrophy, a broad label that reflects the representative patient population tested in pivotal studies, Chief Medical Officer Caroline Baumal said during a Friday evening conference call. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company plans to launch the drug in March, marketing the product under…

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Is Interoperability Tech Worth the Investment? Experts Say Yes for 3 Reasons

Is Interoperability Tech Worth the Investment? Experts Say Yes for 3 Reasons

Editor’s note: This story is based on discussions at Abarca Forward, a conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, hosted by Abarca, a pharmacy benefit manager. MedCity News’ Editor-in-Chief Arundhati Parmar and Senior Reporter Katie Adams were invited to attend and speak at the conference. All travel and related expenses for the team were covered by Abarca. However, company officials had no input in editorial coverage. 
In order for the U.S. healthcare system to operate smoothly, various stakeholders must cooperate with one another and share data seamlessly. But this notion is far from being achieved — the industry is still seriously plagued by…

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Demo of the LG TV Integration with Amwell

Demo of the LG TV Integration with Amwell

At a recent conference, I had a chance to chat with Atul Singh, General Manager, Digital Health at LG Electronics about their relatively recent virtual care solution with Amwell. It makes a lot of sense why Amwell and LG would want to work together. Many hospitals and healthcare organizations have already installed LG TVs in their organizations or they will as they build new hospitals or update their existing exam rooms. Those TVs often act as a hub of information for a patient and increasingly are becoming a patients connection with their nurses and doctors.Given that final piece, LG and Amwell…

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Episode 10: A Look at the  Proposed HIPAA Changes

Episode 10: A Look at the Proposed HIPAA Changes

In this episode of Health+Tech, Andrea Lee Linna and Jonathan Ishee are joined by fellow McGuireWoods digital health team member Michael Paluzzi to discuss proposed HIPAA changes that may require covered entities and business associates to overhaul their HIPAA policies and procedures in 2022.After providing a high-level overview of the proposed changes, the podcast turns to a live recording of Andrea and Jonathan’s recent webinar, “Preparing for Major HIPAA Changes in 2022,” offering in-depth details about the proposed changes and how to prepare for them in the new year….

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Episode 9: Digital Health Trends and Issues for Life Sciences Companies

Episode 9: Digital Health Trends and Issues for Life Sciences Companies

In this episode of Health+Tech, McGuireWoods healthcare attorneys Janice Suchyta, Kate Hardey, Kae Gruner and Royce DuBiner discuss the latest digital health updates from the Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission. Join the conversation as we wrap up Cybersecurity Awareness Month and discuss the following topics:• FDA draft guidance on electronic health records and medical claims data• FDA new resource for approved artificial intelligence/machine learning medical devices• FDA Digital Health Center of Excellence• FTC rules for health apps outside of HIPAA…

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Episode 8: Telehealth Barriers During Covid-19

Episode 8: Telehealth Barriers During Covid-19

In this episode of Health+Tech, McGuireWoods healthcare partner Janice Suchyta talks to Michele Satterlund, senior vice president in the state government relations practice of McGuireWoods Consulting and a partner with McGuireWoods, on the emergence of telehealth, particularly during the pandemic. They also look at how telehealth is evaluated state by state and discuss the need for uniform best practices….

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Episode 7: Houston Ready to Become the Third Coast for Biotechnology

Episode 7: Houston Ready to Become the Third Coast for Biotechnology

In this episode of Health+Tech, McGuireWoods healthcare partner Janice M. Suchyta talks to Donna Chang, founder and CEO of Hope Biosciences. Donna discusses how Texas — particularly Houston — is making a name for itself in biotechnology by attracting research funding, supporting premier academic medical centers and welcoming investment by major pharmaceutical companies. Hope Biosciences, a stem cell biotechnology company that has flourished as part of the biotech cluster in the Houston area, is helping to make Texas the third coast for biotechnology….

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Episode 6: Health Information Exchange and Security

Episode 6: Health Information Exchange and Security

In this episode of Health+Tech, McGuireWoods partners Jonathan Ishee and Andrea Lee Linna talk to George Gooch, CEO of the Texas Health Services Authority (THSA), about their cybersecurity, health information exchange and pandemic surveillance initiatives. They also discuss:Information blocking rule complianceRecent Texas legislation (now signed into law) affecting healthcare breach notificationThe role of health information exchange in public health surveillanceTHSA initiatives using open-source digital health tools to provide real-time situational awareness to healthcare providers during the pandemic…

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Episode 5: Venture Capital in Digital Health

Episode 5: Venture Capital in Digital Health

For this episode of Health+Tech, please join Dr. Anwar Hussain, General Partner at RhythmVC, and McGuireWoods Chicago partner Andrea Lee Linna, as they discuss digital healthcare and the nuts and bolts needed to create better systems. Their discussion covers:What venture capital is looking for when investing in digital healthOpportunities for startups in healthcare business-to-business softwareHow healthcare regulations impact digital health investmentApplication of artificial intelligence, blockchain and the internet of things to healthcare data…

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