Latest Conference Articles

During a session on expanding the role of value-based insurance design (VBID) in public insurance at the University of Michigan V-BID Center’s annual V-BID Summit on March 14, panelists representing 3 different payers shared how they have seen value-based principles take hold in their plans and their predictions for the future.

There still needs to be more education around what real-world evidence is, explained Jason Harris, associate director of policy and programs at National Health Council.

No one wants to think that they can’t afford the treatment, and they certainly don’t want to raise that issue with their physician, said Ian Manners, MBA, co-founder, CEO, Vivor.

Finding inefficiencies in operational processes to identify gaps, improve symptom management and adherence, and optimizing value-based care—these are a few of the advantages of implementing technology in the daily operations of a community-based practice. This was the takeaway message from a series of presentations at the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, March 14-16, 2018, in Washington DC.

Care has become very complex and it isn’t enough to just give patients information and hope they can process it on their own, said Barbara Tofani, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, administrative director of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center.

At the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, held March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC, panelists shared strategies that have helped their organizations adapt to value-based care while ensuring that they never lose sight of the patient at the center of it all.

Michael Reff, executive director of National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA), discusses the role of the medically integrated dispensary in the transition to value-based payment models.

The US health system has done a poor job of integrating new technologies into practice, while other countries do better, said Roger Holzberg, BFA, co-founder and creative director of Reimagine Well.

Panelists Kavita Patel, MD, Brookings Institute; Michael E. Chernew, PhD, Harvard Medical School; and Katy Spangler, Spangler Strategies discussed implementing the value-based insurance design concept in health policy and payment models, challenges with quality measurements, the role of employers in value-based care, and more at the VBID Summit, held March 14 by the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design.

The increasing level of frustration that Tom Gallo saw in cancer care prompted him to choose burnout as the theme for his year as president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).

What are the biggest drivers of change in oncology care and what needs most attention? This was the crux of the discussion during an early panel at the Association of Community Cancer Centers' 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, held March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC.

The increasing complexity and personalization of clinical trials are major challenges for managing clinical trials, said James Hamrick, MD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente and Flatiron Health.

At the Association of Community Cancer Center’s 44th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, March 14-16, 2018, in Washington, DC, payer and physician representatives shared the stage with the president of a cancer foundation that is striving to break the barriers that prevent easy healthcare information exchange and access to cancer care.

Panelists brought diverse viewpoints to a discussion on creating a smarter high-deductible health plan at a session during the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID)’s annual V-BID Summit on March 14, 2018, at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Patient education is critical for improving adherence as many patients don’t always know what their medications are or even how they can be taken with other medications they area already on, said Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCPS, clinical coordinator for University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Anne L. Schwartz, PhD, executive director of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, discusses the role of MACPAC in sharing data with policy makers.

Information technology and an integrated clinical team can help improve medication adherence for patients receiving oral oncolytics, said Steven D'Amato, RPh, BSPharm, executive director of New England Cancer Specialists.

Sanofi–Regeron's offer to cut prices if payers improve access comes on the heels of the FDA Commissioner's critique of the "Kabuki" constructs that harm the sickest patients.

The burden of high drug costs is something that everyone with health insurance coverage is facing, explained Leigh Purvis, director, Health Services Research, AARP Public Policy Institute.

Linda Frisk, PharmD, of Arizona Oncology, discusses the role of the pharmacist in new value-based payment models and her experience with the Oncology Care Model (OCM).

Georgia is struggling with people who are able to get health insurance, but not access care; unfortunately, little is expected to get done in Washington, DC, with 2018 being an election year, according to Representative Doug Collins, R-Georgia.

Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, mentions her concerns about what states may include in their waivers in Medicaid programs.

Coverage of the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

Thomas Graf, MD, chief medical officer and vice president, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, discusses the impact of increases in drug prices on oncology stakeholders.

CVD-REAL, the giant study of real-world evidence comparing sodium glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors with other glucose-lowering drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, found a 49% lower risk of all-cause death and a host of other benefits across 6 new, more diverse countries, the study’s lead author told a packed room Sunday at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Florida.

Coverage of the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

Healthcare reform pledged to do better for patients with heart failure, creating the incentives and team-based approaches these fragile patients need. In some cases, this has happened, but there have also been unintended consequences, according to a panel appearing Sunday at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, being held in Orlando, Florida.

Coverage from the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

Patients with acute coronary syndrome who used a genetic test to select an antiplatelet drug were 42% less likely to have a cardiovascular (CV) event or major bleeding, according to a study presented Sunday at the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, taking place in Orlando, Florida.

The journey to better women's heart health starts with having more data, said Nanette Kass Wenger, MD, MACC, MACP, FAHA, professor of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine, during the Simon Dack Keynote Lecture, which opened the 67th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.