HEOR NEWS

Development of Machine Learning Prediction Models for Systemic Inflammatory Response Following Controlled Exposure to a Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine in Healthy Adults Using Multimodal Wearable Biosensors in Canada: A Single-Center, Prospective Controlled Trial (The Lancet Digital Health)

A Canada study used multimodal wearable sensors, host-response biomarkers, and machine learning to predict systemic inflammation following controlled exposure to a live attenuated influenza vaccine, without relying on symptoms. Researchers say the use of sensors and biomarkers provided “rich and objective data” to train machine learning algorithms, and the approach outperformed symptom-based detection.
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Trump Signs “Big Beautiful Bill”: Here’s What It Means for Healthcare (Healio)

Over the next decade, federal support for Medicaid will be cut by $930 billion, with certain able-bodied adults aged 19 to 64 years required to work, participate in job training, volunteer, or enroll in school at least 80 hours a month to maintain their benefits. Additionally, there are also new changes to the Affordable Care Act that are expected to reduce enrollment. 
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Harnessing Digital Innovation for Children’s Mental Health (NICE)

In implementing NICE’s recommendation for Lumi Nova, a digital therapy app for children aged 7 to 12 years with symptoms of anxiety, East London NHS Foundation Trust was able to address a gap in mental health services support for primary school children.
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Prescription Use and Spending After the Introduction of a Real-Time Prescription Benefit Tool (JAMA Network Open)

A study that looked at real-time prescription benefit tools that provide prescription cost estimates to clinicians at the time of prescribing found although these tools have many anticipated benefits, further research is needed on how to design and deploy them to maximize potential benefits.
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Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Survival Disparities by Health Insurance Coverage Among Patients With Metastatic Cancer (JAMA Open Network)

Although the use of expensive immune checkpoint inhibitors can substantially improve median survival among individuals with cancer, researchers found widening survival disparity between people without health insurance and those with private insurance. The findings suggest that programs aimed at improving health insurance coverage and providing comprehensive financial assistance to people without coverage may help to mitigate these disparities.
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Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts (KFF News)

A little-known federal agency, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, has had a majority of its staffers fired and is facing severe budget cuts. Experts predict the lack of funding will cause the collapse of workplace mental health programs such as those for suicide prevention and assistance with drug addiction.
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Measles Cases Rise in the Americas in 2025 (PAHO)

A total of 7132 confirmed cases of measles and 13 deaths have been reported in the Region of the Americas as of mid-June 2025, representing a 29-fold increase compared to the 244 cases reported during the same period in 2024. Canada, Mexico, and the United States account for the majority of cases and deaths, and experts say the rise in cases underscores the need to address gaps in routine immunization.
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Leading Medical Groups Sue Kennedy Over Changed COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations (STAT)

Six major medical groups and a pregnant physician are suing health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, arguing that the May 19 directive, under which the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant people, violates decades of policy governing how vaccines are reviewed, approved, and recommended in the United States.
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Findings Reveal Gaps in Care for Pregnant Minority Women With Cancer (AJMC Evidence-Based Oncology)

In an interview with AJMC, Duke Appiah, PhD, MPH, associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, highlighted the findings of his abstract “Higher Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Women With Cancer in the United States,” which he presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025. Appiah found in women with breast cancer, as well as thyroid cancer, there was a 30% elevated risk in these groups for conditions including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, fetal growth restriction, intrauterine fetal death, preterm birth, and maternal mortality.
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Efficacy and Safety of Varenicline and Bupropion, in Combination and Alone, for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multicenter Trial (The Lancet Regional Health Europe)

In looking at the administration of bupropion and varenicline for alcohol use disorder, a study funded by the Swedish Research Council determined that the drugs reduced alcohol consumption more than placebo alone, with the greatest effect shown when both drugs were administered together and compliance was high.
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