News from Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Articles
Value Viewpoint: January 16, 2026
(1/16, Kimberly Westrich, LinkedIn) comments “A new paper published in Value in Health proposes a way to build health equity directly into ‘value-based pricing’ of health services in the English National Health Service. The methodology relies on distributional cost-effectiveness analysis and contract theory. The authors analyze budget-neutral incentive redesigns, illustrated as a hypothetical 20% increase in the price of one activity financed by reducing another, and quantify the efficiency–equity trade-off using the Equally Distributed Equivalent level of health.” Full
COPD Treatment: Impact of Dual Therapy on Outcomes
(1/20, Bioengineer.org) reports “...The compelling findings suggest that stepping up from dual therapy to more complex regimens such as FF/UMEC/VI or BUD/GLY/FORM can lead to significant improvement in patient outcomes, especially for those with a high frequency of exacerbations. The data presented indicates that patients in these categories who transitioned to the newer therapies experienced a notable reduction in exacerbation rates, suggesting a potent advantage of advanced therapies over traditional dual approaches.” Full
Press Releases
ISPOR Releases New 2026-2027 Top 10 HEOR Trends Report
(1/20, ISPOR Press Release) “...Artificial intelligence (AI) moves to the #1 spot on the trends list. AI is rapidly transforming healthcare and HEOR, creating new opportunities and challenges for responsible implementation. Real-world evidence (RWE) moves to #2 after appearing as the top trend in the past several reports. With the expanded use of RWE in regulatory assessments, the focus is centering on enhancing the availability, quality, and transparency of real-world data. Value-based healthcare is new to the trends report entering the list at #3 with attention to aligning health systems’ incentives to value. At #4 is the topic of drug pricing, which has appeared in some form in each of the past reports. Innovative therapies landed on the #5 spot for this report with the emphasis on fostering novel technologies that can make real advancements in health.” Full
Institute for Clinical and Economic Review Names Luke Prettol to Governance Board
(1/20, ICER Press Release) “...Mr. Prettol works as the Principal Benefits Strategy Consultant at AT&T, one of the largest self-insured employers in the country, where he leads strategic design of health and welfare benefits for the company’s employees and retirees. Mr. Prettol brings a dual perspective to health care value, combining deep professional expertise in health care purchasing with personal experience navigating complex medical care following his diagnosis with Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare genetic condition.” Full
Journals
Insights Into Patient Portal Engagement Leveraging Observational Electronic Health Data
Mohamed M. Ali, MS, et al.
January 12, 2026, The American Journal of Managed Care
A Five-Year Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Versus Cervical Total Disc Replacement: A Retrospective Multiparametric Evaluation of Clinical, Radiological, and Quality of Life Outcomes
Bharat R. Dave, et al.
January 18, 2026, Cureus
FF/UMEC/VI and BUD/GLY/FORM in Patients with COPD Stepping Up from Dual Therapy Stratified by Exacerbations and Prior Dual Therapy: A Subgroup Analysis of a Comparative Effectiveness Study
Jadwiga A. Wedzicha, et al.
January 19, 2026, Advances in Therapy
Administration of Normal Saline versus Ringers Lactate in Critically Ill Patients: A Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan for a Secondary Analysis of the FLUID Trial (FLUID-ICU)
Lauralyn McIntyre Sr., et al.
January 19, 2026, medRxiv
SGLT2 Inhibitors vs GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Kidney Outcomes in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes
Simon K Jensen, et al.
January 20, 2026, JAMA Internal Medicine
Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Vonoprazan/Amoxicillin-Based Dual Therapy Versus Quadruple Therapy as Second-Line Treatment for Helicobacter Pylori Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Ying-Ying Han, et al.
January 20, 2026, Clinical and Experimental Medicine