Lena Huang

The private connections between doctors and pharmaceutical companies are now public. In September, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opened access to a public database of those connections (

) as required by the Sunshine Act, legislation that was part of the Affordable Care Act adopted in 2010. Under the act, medical device and pharmaceutical companies are required to submit data annually to CMS on payments and gifts made to physicians and teaching hospitals. Before the data are posted, physicians will have 45 days to check and correct the information. Some payments, such as educational materials for patients and gifts under $10 in value (unless they accumulate to a total of more than $100 in a calendar year), will be exempt from submission. This act was created so the public could make informed health care decisions based on the knowledge of financial relationships among the pharmaceutical industry, doctors and hospitals.

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The private connections between doctors and pharmaceutical companies are now public due to requirements from the Sunshine Act.

Sunshine Act Sheds Light on Gifts to Doctors From Pharmaceutical Companies

	More than 175 members of Congress rallied this summer to support Medicare coverage of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for seniors at risk for developing lung cancer. Forty-four U.S. senators and 134 U.S. representatives signed letters urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to cover the screening.

	In April, the Medicare Evidence and Coverage Advisory Committee voted against recommending LDCT scans out of concern that the risks outweigh the benefits. Many medical organizations, however, have endorsed the screening, including the American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

	Last December, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended LDCT scans for long-term smokers age 55 through 80. The Affordable Care Act requires private insurance companies to cover the screening for high-risk individuals starting in 2015.

	CMS will make an initial decision on the screening in November. The final decision is to be made in February 2015.

Members of Congress rallied this summer to support Medicare coverage of low-dose computed tomography screening for seniors at risk for developing lung cancer. 

Members of Congress Rally for Medicare Coverage of Lung Cancer Screening

September is National Yoga Month, a month dedicated to bringing awareness to the health benefits of yoga. Lots of yoga activities are scheduled this month to celebrate. One program I heard of that I wanted to share is a free week of yoga! Over 2,200 yoga studios across the country are offering a week of free yoga classes. The free classes are being coordinated by the nonprofit Yoga Health Foundation. To find a participating studio in your area and for more information, check out  

 a nonprofit that houses free yoga videos on its website and connects cancer patients and survivors with the yoga community. The health benefits of yoga for cancer patients and survivors are being studied more and more. Earlier this year, a couple of yoga studies were published in the 

 showed some impact of yoga on inflammation and fatigue in breast cancer survivors. The other 

 concluded that yoga improved quality of life for some patients undergoing radiation. While a lot is unknown about the specific connections, it's encouraging to see the practice benefitting people with cancer both physically and mentally. 	In 

, we have covered the health benefits of yoga for cancer patients and survivors in articles such as 

At ASCO this year, I talked to Dr. Karen Mustian of the University of Rochester Medical Center, who I interviewed in 2012 about yoga and fatigue. Mustian said she had just received funding for another yoga study, which she hopes will shed more light on the connections between yoga and quality of life for cancer survivors. Stay tuned for more coverage of these studies in 

Free yoga this month

According to a ruling passed in February by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), patients no longer have to go through the doctor who ordered clinical tests to learn the results. Instead, they can get the results directly from the lab.

“Information like lab results can empower patients to track their health progress, make decisions with their healthcare professionals and adhere to important treatment plans,” former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a press release. Sebelius resigned from office in April.

The federal rule revises the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 to allow labs to provide complete test results to a patient or a patient’s designated representative upon request. The rule also removes an exception under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 that protected health information at CLIA-certified or CLIA-exempt laboratories.

Patients can continue to receive lab results from their physicians, but this new ruling provides patients another option for access.

Patients no longer have to go through the doctor who ordered clinical tests to learn the results; instead, they can get the results directly from the lab.

Lena Huang

Sunshine Act Sheds Light on Gifts to Doctors From Pharmaceutical Companies

Members of Congress Rally for Medicare Coverage of Lung Cancer Screening

Free yoga this month

Ruling Grants Patients Direct Access to Lab Results

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