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Two-Year Data Reinforce Effect Of ACTEMRA(R) (tocilizumab) In Inhibiting Progression Of Joint Damage And Improving Physical Function In Arthritis
Roche announced that two-year data from the LITHE (TociLIzumab Safety and THE Prevention of Structural Joint Damage) study demonstrated that ACTEMRA(R) (tocilizumab) continued to inhibit the progression of structural damage to joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study also showed that patients receiving ACTEMRA experienced improved physical function, as measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) scores(1). The LITHE study is the fifth international Phase III study in the extensive ACTEMRA clinical development program to successfully meet its primary endpoints in patients with moderately to severely active RA.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Calls For World To Do More To Protect Refugees
To mark World Refugee Day on June 20, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urged the "international community to do more to protect and care for refugees around the world," VOA News reports (Schlein, VOA News, 6/20).
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A New UK Survey Suggests Primary Care Clinicians Need Clearer Post-Mi Guidelines To Provide Their Patients With Optimal Care
A new survey published in the British Journal of Cardiology suggests that inconsistencies in clinical guidance for the ongoing management of post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients may contribute to significant variation in clinical practice reported by GPs and practice nurses.1a These findings indicate that, in some areas of the UK, care for post-MI patients after leaving hospital may not be optimal,1b according to authors from the Follow Your Heart group. *
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A Selection Of Recent Studies And Surveys

UCLA Health Policy Research Brief: Health Coverage in the Safety Net: How California"s Coverage Initiative Is Providing A Medical Home to Low-Income Uninsured Adults in Ten Counties, Interim Findings -- As medical homes continue to gain attention for being used as "a potential remedy to access system-wide problems of high health care costs and limited access," a team of UCLA researchers "present interim findings on the efforts of ten California counties to explore the medical home model as part of the state"s Health Care Coverage Initiative (HCCI), a three-year program to expand health care coverage for eligible low-income, uninsured individuals not otherwise covered by Medi-Cal" in a policy brief. "Among the innovations described are efforts to create electronic health and medical records, modify e-referrals to two-way communication between primary care physicians and other providers and standardize chronic disease registries" (6/09). Health Affairs: Families With Mixed Eligibility For Public Coverage: Navigating Medicaid, CHIP, And Uninsurance -- Children in families where they differ from siblings in their eligibility for public insurance programs are more likely to go uninsured, according to a study published online Tuesday in the journal, Health Affairs. The paper, authored by Julie Hudson, a senior economist in the Center for Financing Access and Cost Trends at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality paper is the first to document the phenomenon of mixed eligibility. "In light of CHIPRA initiatives to improve take-up among eligible children and health reform efforts to increase overall coverage, these results suggest that states may benefit by focusing efforts on the mixed-eligibility population" (Hudson, 6/23). National Committee For Quality Assurance: Supporting Small Practices: Lessons For Health Reform -- Though "small medical practices" - those with five or fewer physicians - "play an important role in the care of patients with diverse needs" they face "significant barriers to providing the highest quality health care," according to a report released Wednesday. With funding from the California Endowment, NCQA worked with 19 small practices in an effort to identify "what was needed to support practices with the least experience with quality improvement and electronic health records, like most small practices in the United States today." "The report highlights the importance of providing adequate help in adapting to the new demands for quality and accountability under current health care reform proposals" (6/24). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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