Press Room

Opioid users have a significantly increased risk of infections severe enough to require treatment at the hospital, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as compared to people who don’t use opioids. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center study, released today (Feb. 11) in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that people who use opioids have a 1.62 times higher risk of invasive pneumococcal diseases.

January 18, 2018 - Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have proliferated among both public and commercial payers, with the goal of optimizing the value of health care delivered to populations.  The ACO model — voluntary networks of doctors, hospitals, and other providers — centers on transferring financial risk for the cost and quality of care from the payer to an ACO, theoretically incentivizing the delivery of high-value health care services and minimizing waste.