Interviews

Wayne J. Katon, MD, professor of psychiatry, director of the division of health services and epidemiology, and vice chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington Medical School, says that people with psychiatric illness in primary care settings cost the system twice as much as those without mental illness. Comorbidities such as depression can add to those costs.

Keith Dunleavy, MD, president, CEO, and chairman of the board for Inovalon, Inc, says that healthcare is enormously complex, and that it's being driven across a broad range of audiences.

Farzad Mostashari, MD, visiting fellow, Brookings Institution, former national coordinator for health information technology (HIT), US Department of Health and Human Services, says interoperability is the concept of being able to securely exchange health information, and then appropriately understand and use it.

Lee Newcomer, MD, MHA, of Oncology, Genetics and Women's Health for UnitedHealthcare, says the National Comprehensive Cancer Network is transforming genetic testing by utilizing a tool called the NCCN Biomarkers Compendium, which encourages evidence-based decision-making.

Edmund J. Pezalla, MD, MPH, national medical director, Aetna Pharmacy Management, says that Aetna recognizes the implications of the obesity epidemic and how it contributes to a variety of other medical problems such as diabetes and hypertension.

Christine Strahl, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, specialty pharmacy program manager, HealthPartners, says there are several new distribution channels in specialty pharmacy.

Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine.com, a web-based news source for persons with diabetes, took part in panel discussions at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care: Putting Theory into Practice, sponsored by The American Journal of Managed Care.

Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and senior vice president, Joslin Diabetes Center, says that there are opportunities for treating diabetes within accountable care organizations (ACOs).

Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, says accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes are trends driven by macro issues, which include decreased reimbursement to private practices and drug discounts from the 340B program.

The STABLE study compared patients who took weekly tests compared with those who tested less regularly, and found that those who tested weekly had better results than those who did not.

Gary Liska, with Alere Home Monitoring Inc, says Alere's commitment to patients' safety is why they supported the STABLE study.

Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, chief medical officer and senior vice president of Joslin Diabetes Center, highlights why stakeholders should attend the Patient-Centered Diabetes Care: Putting Theory into Practice event on April 10-11, in Princeton, NJ.

Edmund J. Pezalla, MD, MPH, national medical director, Aetna Pharmacy Management, says Aetna engages consumers in decision-making in a variety of ways.

Farzad Mostashari, MD, visiting fellow, Brookings Institution, former national coordinator for health information technology (HIT), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), discusses how data and digitization are driving innovation in healthcare.

Toby Cosgrove, MD, president and CEO, The Cleveland Clinic, says their organization has implemented a variety of strategies to bend the cost curve.

Karen Lewis, MS, MM, CGC, says counselors act as the middle man in the process of genetic counseling.

Richard Umdenstock, president and chief executive officer, American Hospital Association, says institutions may face a number of challenges as they absorb the newly insured.

Steven D. Shapiro, MD, executive vice president, chief medical and science officer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), says that when improving care, sometimes less is more.

Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, and attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, says accountable care organizations (ACOs) and patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) may have the potential to drive cost savings, especially in clinical areas such as readmissions.

Chris Belmont, vice president and chief information officer, MD Anderson Cancer Center, says the right timing and the right context are essential to effective health data management.

Karen Lewis, MS, MM, CGC, says the goals of Healthy People 2020 are developed by looking at a variety of key areas in healthcare, and then choosing the most actionable items to improve the overall health of the general population.

David Hoyt, MD, FACS, executive director, American College of Surgeons (ACS), says the 4 pillars are based on 100 years of setting standards for healthcare.

Amy Berman, BS, RN, says that all too often, people end up in the hospital because they don't know where else to go for treatment.

Scott Ramsey, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, says that right now, only a small portion of health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) fits into the oncology model.

Dennis Scanlon, PhD, professor of health policy and administration at Penn State University, says there are a number of ways professionals continue to use data to improve delivery outcomes.

Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, and attending physician, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, says there are a couple of challenges with the accountable care organization (ACO) and patient centered medical home (PCMH) care models.

Steven D. Shapiro, MD, executive vice president, chief medical and science officer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says healthcare reform's biggest benefit is that it is leading care from a system that is volume based to one that is value based.

Len Nichols, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics (CHPRE) and a professor of Health Policy at George Mason University, discusses how hospitals can achieve the triple aim.

David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, executive director, American College of Surgeons (ACS), says their National Surgical Improvement Program is designed to help hospitals evaluate where they stand with certain complications, and to then help them through a series of techniques to improve the care around those complications.

Chris Belmont, vice president and chief information officer, MD Anderson Cancer Center, says that health systems like Ochsner are using data to validate what they already know about certain patient cases.