CER Daily Newsfeed

Value Viewpoint: August 1, 2025

(8/1, Kimberly Westrich, LinkedIn) comments “New research published in Value in Health investigates the relationship between Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID), medication adherence, and healthcare spending. The study examines Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana’s Zero Dollar Co-payment program for eligible enrollees with type 2 diabetes. Study results indicated a significant reduction in total healthcare spending of $121.76 per member per month (PMPM) as well as a reduction in medical spending of $131.50 PMPM. Complex users showed reductions of $283.44 PMPM in total healthcare spending and $385.45 PMPM in medical spending, but had a significant increase in pharmacy spending of $102.01 PMPM.” Full

Glipizide Linked to Highest MACE-4 Risk in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes

(8/4, HealthDay News) reports “For individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and moderate cardiovascular risk treated with metformin, the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events is highest for glipizide as a second-line therapy compared with other sulfonylureas and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP4is), according to a study published online July 24 in JAMA Network Open.” Full

Medicare Could Save Billions by Cutting Low-Value Care, Study Finds

(8/4, Austin Littrell, Medical Economics) reports “...[A. Mark Fendrick, M.D.] emphasized the study’s approach distinguishes between patients who might benefit from a service and those who clearly will not — a critical nuance often overlooked in broader policy conversations. ‘This research is very policy relevant as it takes a clinically driven, patient-focused approach to quantifying unnecessary medical spending,’ Fendrick said. ‘This is much more nuanced than “blunt” policies that reduce government spending on health care but could harm patients.’ He also noted the study likely underestimates total waste.” Full

Real-World Data, Digital Patient Profiles Are Revolutionizing Trial Design, Patient Recruitment: Gen Li, PhD, MBA

(8/4, Pearl Steinzor, Gen Li, PhD, MBA, The American Journal of Managed Care) reports “...Innovative digital patient profiles and comprehensive real-world data are transforming oncology clinical trials by driving smarter study design, improving patient recruitment accuracy, and lowering the risk of trial failure, explains Gen Li, PhD, MBA, president and founder of Phesi.” Full

Making Every Day Count: PCORI’s Role in Improving Quality of Life for People With Metastatic Cancer

(8/1, The PCORI Blog) comments “...The PRO-TECT trial enrolled nearly 1,200 individuals with various metastatic cancers from 52 clinics. Clinics were randomly assigned to either continue with standard care or adopt weekly electronic symptom tracking...After three months, individuals using the electronic monitoring system experienced fewer and less severe symptoms, improved quality of life and greater ability to continue daily activities. After one year, these participants also had fewer hospitalizations and emergency department visits, indicating better symptom control and fewer health crises.” Full

IQWiG to Investigate Routine Practice Data for New Drugs in Germany

(8/4, The Pharma Letter) reports “The German Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has commissioned the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) to develop a scientific concept on the methods used for the generation and analysis of routine practice data in the context of so-called routine practice data collection. The health technology assessor said that this becomes important whenever studies on drugs for rare diseases or drugs with special approval in which the new drug was compared with the therapeutic standard have not been carried out.” Subscription Required