Latest Conference Articles

The concept of value is a well-known topic among health policy experts, the payer community, and policy makers, but patients do not necessarily have the same idea of what value means. When discussions about removing low-value care from the system to save money come up, patients might get the wrong idea of what is going on and why.

There are similarities between the challenges of accessing good cancer care in rural areas of the United States and Rwanda, such as poverty, transportation, and lack of routine care, said Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center, and professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The Virginia Center for Health Innovation (VCHI) is receiving a $2.2 million grant from Arnold Ventures to launch a 3-year statewide pilot to reduce the use of low-value care in the state of Virginia.

There has always been interest in bundled payments, and now the industry is moving toward implementing more, explained Scott Hewitt, vice president, payment strategy and innovation, UnitedHealthcare.

Despite a patient's vigilance, there is an unpredictable risk of an accidental reaction from an exposure, explained Brian Vickery, MD, associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University and director of the Food Allergy Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

There is a lot involved if an accountable care organization (ACO) decides to switch from Medicare Shared Savings (MSSP) to Medicare Advantage, but Medicare Advantage offers more benefit design flexibility, explained Kim Kauffman, MPH, vice president of value-based care at Summit Medical Group.

Researchers are encouraged by a set of peanut allergy immunotherapy data released Sunday at the 2019 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting, but they said that more discoveries are needed to understand which treatment might be best suited for patients.

There are greater awareness efforts taking place to educate other specialists on referring patients who are having suspected allergic reactions to the appropriate allergists, who can do a fuller evaluation, said Scott P. Commins, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, at the University of North Carolina.

Some children treated with egg oral immunotherapy (OIT) are likely to continue eating and tolerating egg 5 years after treatment, according to research that may someday lead to the development of biomarkers to predict who will respond to OIT. The research was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Two abstracts presented Saturday at The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2019 Annual Meeting, held February 22-25 in San Francisco, California, discussed how formulary switching can affect outcomes for patients with severe persistent asthma, as well as how improving outcomes may be associated with increased quality measures.

Three studies presented Saturday at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 2019 Annual Meeting, held February 22-25 in San Francisco, California, discussed different topics related to hereditary angioedema and treatment with subcutaneous injection of C1-esterase inhibitor (C1-INH).

Two abstracts presented Saturday at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 2019 Annual Meeting, held February 22-25 in San Francisco, California, covered various links among economics, asthma control, and medication use.

Data about who is affected by sesame allergy, the ninth allergen in the United States, were released in an effort to convince the FDA to label it as a major food allergen.

Even when there are treatment failures, the knowledge gained through food allergy studies helps to move the field forward, explained Robert A. Wood, MD, director, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Medicine; 2018-2019 president, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI).

Not only are there more dollars being place in value-based contracts, but the healthcare community is starting to see the benefits of these programs, explained Scott Hewitt, vice president, payment strategy and innovation, UnitedHealthcare.

The Institute for Accountable Care has a massive database to understand which accountable care organizations (ACOs) are successful and why, as well as how best to implement accountable care programs, explained Rob Mechanic, MBA, senior fellow at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and executive director of the Institute for Accountable Care.

As CMS prepares to implement its new Pathways to Success program (formerly Medicare Shared Savings Program) for accountable care organizations (ACOs), some ACOs may consider Medicare Advantage a more beneficial arrangement, explained Kim Kauffman, MPH, vice president of value-based care at Summit Medical Group.

While not every doctor is successful in value-based contracts, there is a shift in the right direction to more value-based care, explained Scott Hewitt, vice president, payment strategy and innovation, UnitedHealthcare.

Three months following the 2018 midterm elections, a panel discussion at AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference, held February 4-5 in Washington, DC, outlined how much healthcare did, or didn’t, play a role in the elections, as well as what healthcare trends to expect in 2019.

A study presented at the AcademyHealth 2019 National Health Policy Conference, held February 4-5 in Washington, DC, found that the adoption of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act has been linked to lower rates of maternal mortality.

During a session at AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference held February 4-5 in Washington, DC, healthcare stakeholders discussed 3 innovations that are changing the way we think about healthcare: social determinants of health, digital health, and data.

Compared with other payment models, like bundled payments or the Comprehensive Primary Care Program, accountable care organizations (ACOs) have done a better job of saving money, said Rob Mechanic, MBA, senior fellow at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and executive director of the Institute for Accountable Care.

Rural communities continue to face health challenges and disparities, with higher percentages of preventable deaths, higher rates of Medicare and Medicaid populations, and much fewer providers, according to a panel discussion at AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference, being held February 4-5 in Washington, DC.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar outlined efforts by Trump administration to tackle the drug rebate system during his keynote address at AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference.

Medicare Advantage (MA) provides accountable care organizations (ACOs) with benefits that aren’t available in Medicare’s ACO program, explained Kim Kauffman, MPH, vice president of value-based care at Summit Medical Group.

There has been great engagement in accountable care organizations (ACOs) because ACOs offer a level of coordinated care that patients are looking for, explained Scott Hewitt, vice president, payment strategy and innovation, UnitedHealthcare.

The way accountable care organizations are set up makes them a perfect system of care for high-need, high-cost patients who might otherwise fall through the cracks of traditional delivery models, said Rob Mechanic, MBA, senior fellow at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and executive director of the Institute for Accountable Care.

Despite their growing prevalence, there is still a lack of biosimilar education amongst stakeholders, said Robert Rifkin, MD, FACP, medical director, biosimilars and associate chair, hematology research, McKesson Specialty Health.

The biggest barrier to positive clinical outcomes in multiple myeloma is access, explained Robert Rifkin, MD, FACP, medical director, biosimilars and associate chair, hematology research, McKesson Specialty Health.

Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, director, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses how genomic sequencing plays a role in determining prognosis and treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).