Latest Conference Articles

At the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, providers brooded over implications of quality measures and how they will influence clinical practice in the coming years.

An early session on the first day of the annual meeting and exposition of the American Society of Hematology, being held December 5-8, 2015, in Orlando, Florida, saw presentations on the promise of newly approved hematology/oncology agents, in addition to the challenges that clinicians face in treating patients with these drugs.

In a session at the Fall Managed Care Forum 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada, cardiology expert Harold Bays MD, FTOS, FACC, FACE, FNLA, emphasized the importance of greater adherence to evidence-based practice guidelines, and the relevance of treatment with omega-3 fatty acids in hypertriglyceridemia.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by nonspecific symptoms, which can lead to a delay in diagnosis. Without treatment, patients with PAH have a poor prognosis, but development and availability of PAH-specific therapies have improved the overall prognosis of the disease.

The Medicare Shared Savings Program is the perfect way for primary care physicians to get involved with alternative payments as Medicare moves to replace fee-for-service, explained Hymin Zucker, MD, chief medical officer of the Triple Aim Development Group.

Panelist discuss early referral to palliative care, enduring misconceptions, culture considerations, and more at the Fall Managed Care Forum 2015.

A look at effective anticoagulation strategies for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation.

There is an enormous medication adherence problem in the United States, and millions of people could benefit from cognitive therapy, and technology can help.

As the healthcare industry positions itself for the change to value-based care, there needs to be a widespread change in terms of collaboration between physicians, hospitals, and payers.

The government is leading the charge toward value-based care and no matter how slowly, everyone else will follow, said Jacque Sokolov, MD, chairman and CEO of SSB Solutions, during the opening keynote presentation at the Fall Managed Care Forum 2015.

Results released by Sanofi and Regeneron of their PCSK9 inhibitor were based on prior clinical trials.

Studies at the American Heart Association show very different approaches to exercise for type 2 diabetes patients.

Test results presented have implications for patients if they require emergency surgery.

Results show that bleeding was the most common reason patients stopped taking the drug in this study of long-term tolerability.

Commentators called the study the most important blood pressure research in 40 years. Treating systolic pressure to a target of 120 mm Hg did not cause problems for patients with existing chronic kidney disease although there were some signals for those who did not have the disease at baseline.

More details are revealed on the first diabetes drug shown to have a cardioprotective benefit, but Yale's Silvio Inzucchi was cautious about assuming the effect applies to the entire SGLT2 inhibitor class.

Studies that measure the effect of walkable communities in Canada and taking the train in Japan show that added steps to one's routine can have positive effects on heart health.

A study finds that a commonly prescribed therapy reduces activity in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Hospitals that face penalties from CMS for failing to reduce readmission rates have looked to telehealth as a potential tool to keep track of patients after discharge. A study presented by a UCLA researcher did not meet its end point but offered some insights for future work.

Although there have been a number of new value calculators created recently, UnitedHealthcare does not plan to use any just now. Instead, it will continue covering regimens recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and in a few years the company will use data from its prior authorization tool to analyze performance of regimens, explained Lee Newcomer, MD, MHA, senior vice president, Oncology, Genetics and Women's Health, UnitedHealthcare.

The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) created its Payer Exchange Summit to get payers who are thinking about getting involved in oncology payment reform or want to know what to do exposed to successful pilots, explained Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of COA.

At the Payer Exchange Summit on Oncology Payment Reform, hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, Daniel McKellar, MD, who chairs the Commission on Cancer, insisted on meaningful feedback from the community to ensure adequate transformation of practices into a medical home.

Payer—provider teams presented updates on their cost-saving pilot projects and looked to the future of these models in oncology care.

The limited number of FDA approved medications indicated for bipolar depression makes treatment challenging, said Terence A. Ketter, MD. Several drugs that have been tested could not meet standards to receive an indication.

Becoming familiar with the subtle signs that a hallucination is fake can allow psychiatrists to keep patients out of the hospital when they have no business being there.

Presenters who have implemented telehealth to treat PTSD through the VA in Charleston, South Carolina, say it will help address shortages of mental health providers and offer care that is just as good as in-person treatment.

Studies show medication adherence in bipolar disorder is only about 40% to 45%, but this dangerous, progressive disease has a high suicide rate. Adherence is complicated by the fact that patients may miss the mild "high" that many associate with periods of creativity, says Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD.

Promising tests in animal models for an immunotherapy to control methamphetamine addiction have paved the way for human trials that could start in May 2016, according to Thomas Kosten, MD.

A 30-day intervention that includes exercise, nutrition, mindfulness, social connectedness, and sleep resulted in improved scores across a series of wellbeing measures for a small group of patients.

Peter Weiden, MD, says that psychiatrists have greater ability to address side effects from antipsychotics than they did 10 years ago. It's essential that clinicians take patient concerns seriously, because when they don't patients may react by stopping their medication.