Oncology

Implications of Telehealth Use on the Future of Oncology Care

The concluding keynote address at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2022 meeting discussed new and emerging oncology drugs in the pipeline and their potential impact on the treatment landscape as it pertains to managed care providers.

The sessions align with the yearlong theme selected by this year’s ACCC president, David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, when he took the helm in March: “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience.”

Despite the potential incentives for medical oncologists to reduce radiation therapy utilization under the Oncology Care Model, we find no evidence that such reduction occurred.

With multiple pathways and stakeholders involved, there needs to be an arbiter who decides what is the highest quality and highest value care in oncology, said Lucy Langer, MD, MSHS, national medical director, oncology and genomics, UnitedHealthcare.

The targeted therapy, to be sold by Taiho Oncology as Lytgobi, had previously received breakthrough status in 2021 and was accepted for priority review in March.

HHS declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Fiona; nearly 1 in 10 Americans suffered from depression in 2020, and a task force recommended doctors screen all adults aged younger than 65 for anxiety; advances in cancer research have led to reduced cancer death rates.

The rise of telehealth during COVID-19, its limitations, and its uncertain future.

Elaine Goodman, MD, MBA, clinical lead for population health management at Mass General Brigham, explains how patient access and engagement with health technologies, and the ways these technologies are developed, has evolved.

A team of investigators from across the United States investigated a potential connection between patients’ health insurance literacy and their reported financial hardship.

Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, assistant professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, presented long-term results from an experiment with an algorithm designed to prompt oncologists to have serious illness conversations.

Previously, patients with low expression of HER2 were categorized as HER2-negative but adding the HER2-low classification creates new opportunities for patients with advanced breast cancer, explained Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

Benjamin Robbins, MD, MBA, venture partner at GV, explains how the venture capital firm decides to invest in health care companies.

A survey was conducted to determine opportunities to aid primary care providers and patients in the difficult journey of an oncology patient.

Frist Cressey Ventures' main mission is to learn how it can partner with entrepreneurs to improve health care, said Chris Booker, partner with Frist Cressey Ventures.

At a panel for the National Health Alliance, 3 experts talked about incorporating patient needs and requests in cancer care.

Although the Oncology Care Model (OCM) is ending June 30, 2022, it does not mean practices can turn back the clock and revert to how they provided care prior to the OCM, explained Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

Why "tech-enabled" solutions make sense and how the Music City became the a health care hub.

Nathan H. Walcker, MBA, CEO of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) since August 2020, discusses the future of value-based care for the practice as the Oncology Care Model comes to an end.

Amy Valley, PharmD, vice president of clinical strategy and technology solutions, Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, discusses the Decision Path, a clinical support tool designed to inform oncology providers about drug costs along with clinical information, all embedded into the electronic health record workflow.

Four experts from The US Oncology Network partnered with The American Journal of Managed Care® to present a webinar, “Beyond the OCM: How Are Commercial Payers & Employers Delivering Value-Based Cancer Care?”

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, discusses how enhancements to telemedicine precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have made lasting and meaningful changes to oncology care, including that these care improvements will persist post pandemic.

The FDA is faster to approve new oncology therapies compared with the European Medicines Agency (EMA); but that speed may have consequences.

Despite a greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to exposure to chemotherapy and/or radiation, adult survivors of childhood cancer are undertreated for CVD risk factors compared with the general population.

Designing rational spending targets and having small sample sizes are 2 main challenges payers and partners face in the shift toward alternative payment models (APMs), said Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy, assistant professor of medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

As part of its inquiry, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will demand that the 6 largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) submit records and answer questions regarding their business practices.

The approvals were announced by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), maker of the 2 immunotherapy treatments approved for 1 combination: nivolumab (Opdivo), the first approved PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, and ipilimumab (Yervoy), which activates the immune system by targeting CTLA-4.

Miruna Sasu, PhD, MBA, president and CEO of COTA Healthcare, discusses 3 ways in which the FDA can provide, and has provided, assistance on the capture of real-word data (RWD) in electronic medical records.