Latest Conference Articles

Christopher Diehl, PharmD, MBA, BCACP, clinical pharmacist, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, discusses how the role of pharmacists has evolved with presence of value-based models and how pharmacists can ensure these value-based models succeed.

The combination therapy lets patients take a single pill once a day for treatment, which leads to improved adherence. Results of the study were presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2018 in Orlando, Florida.

A major bill to curb opioid abuse and the Trump administration's blueprint to rein in drug prices highlighted a busy year in the legislative and regulatory arena for the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

The introduction of new curative—or durable—treatments has brought 3 challenges to the reimbursement landscape, explained Jane F. Barlow, MD, MPH, MBA, senior advisor, Center for Biomedical Innovation at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Current key market trends include biosimilar, cancer, and orphan drug approvals, explained Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, a senior clinical consultant in Emerging Therapeutics for Express Scripts.

Express Scripts' Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, gave her overview of the specialty pharmacy pipeline for 2019 and beyond at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2018 meeting in Orlando, Florida.

It’s fair to say that the initial results of immunotherapy in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) have been somewhat disappointing, explained Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD, associate professor of medicine and consultant in medical oncology, Mayo Clinic.

The proposed risk adjustment changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) are welcome but moving accountable care organizations (ACOs) to risk too soon could harm the program, said Stephen Nuckolls, CEO of Coastal Carolina Quality Care.

The push to get accountable care organizations to take on risk faster could lead to more participation in Medicare Advantage, said Rob Fields, MD, assistant profession, family medicine and community health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and senior vice president, chief medical officer, population health at Mount Sinai Health System.

Scott Paulson, MD, co-director of the Gastrointestinal Research Program for The US Oncology Network, medical director for the Neuroendocrine Research and Treatment Center at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center, explains the current standard of treatment and novel approaches being taken in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).

CMS’ proposed changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) doesn’t represent a major shift in policy stance toward accountable care organizations (ACOs), said Joe Antos, PhD, the Wilson H. Taylor Resident Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

Heloisa Soares, MD, assistant professor, University of New Mexico Cancer Center-Albuquerque, discusses the importance of treating neuroendocrine tumors with a multidisciplinary team, as well as the importance of engaging patients and their families in their care.

By encouraging more providers to take on risk faster, the current administration may actually be disincentivizing providers from participating at all, which would reduce the number of accountable care organizations (ACOs), said Allison Brennan, MPP, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Association of ACOs.

Private payers are getting more engaged in accountable care organizations (ACOs), said Clif Gaus, ScD, president and CEO of the National Association of ACOs.

The proposed changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program that move accountable care organizations (ACOs) to take on risk in just 2 years is not going to be enough time for most ACOs, although some may be ready in that time, said Stephen Nuckolls, CEO of Coastal Carolina Quality Care.

Contracts for accountable care organizations (ACOs) can be very different depending on who the payer is, according to Katherine Schneider, MD, MPhil, FAAFP, president and CEO of Delaware Valley ACO.

At the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, private payers discussed how they are working with accountable care organizations (ACOs) to create new opportunities in the commercial market.

During the opening plenary and panel at the fall 2018 meeting of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), Adam Boehler, of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, highlighted the fact that CMS has to provide predictability and simplicity to get more accountable care organizations to take on risk and succeed, but that those who are not "cutting it" should "get out of the way" for others.

Rob Fields, MD, assistant profession, family medicine and community health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and senior vice president, chief medical officer, population health at Mount Sinai Health System, discusses how Mount Sinai’s accountable care organizations (ACOs) will have to adjust to the proposed CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) changes.

Two posters presented at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) annual meeting, October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, lend support to the idea of targeted treatment for neuroendocrine tumors.

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting, held October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD, associate professor of medicine and consultant in medical oncology, Mayo Clinic, outlined the biggest news and updates in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) annual meeting, held October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, Sukhmani Padda, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, gave an overview of updates made to lung neuroendocrine tumor guidelines.

Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD, associate professor of medicine and consultant in medical oncology, Mayo Clinic, discusses peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and other new and exciting developments in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are of 2 minds right now. On the one hand, there is a lot of excitement for the future of ACOs, but there is also great anxiety around the changes that CMS proposed for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), said Clif Gaus, ScD, president and CEO of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS).

A retrospective analysis of clinical charts across multiple institutions has found that transitioning patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) to receive lanreotide after octreotide can be a potential therapeutic option.

The biggest challenge we have right now is how to sequence all of these therapies and how to pick the right patient to sequence those treatments, explained Scott Paulson, MD, co-director of the Gastrointestinal Research Program for The US Oncology Network, medical director for the Neuroendocrine Research and Treatment Center at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center.

Narrowing in on neuroendocrine skin cancer, a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, took an in-depth look at prognostics and treatment options for Merkel cell carcinoma in the United States.

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, panelists debated whether newer targeted agents should be considered for first-line treatment in well-differentiated G3 neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs), and if the standard of care—cytotoxic therapy—should still play a role in first-line treatment.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) often care for patients with complex, chronic conditions that can lead to high expenditures and utilization of care. During a session at the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists discussed how ACOs can design and implement strategies that deliver high-quality, low-cost care for these patients.

At the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists shared successful innovative initiatives that have been developed by their accountable care organizations (ACOs). What worked and what did not was the focus of the conversation led by Debbie Welle-Powell, chief population health officer, Essentia Health.