Latest Conference Articles

At the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Washington, DC, several experts presented their progress in harnessing technology to help teenagers and young adults manage their juvenile arthritis.

During a session at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, Jeffrey Curtis, MD, discussed the ways in which patients with rheumatoid arthritis who demonstrate a less-than-adequate response to a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor can be treated with another disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.

A study inspired by a patient who could not afford his heart medication shows that there was no pattern to price variability for a common regimen to treat heart failure, which could contribute to poor adherence.

The study now includes 494 patients, and will be complete when 503 are enrolled. Of the participants, 60% required anticoagulant reversal to undergo surgery.

During a session at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, John D. Isaacs, MD, PhD, FRCP, not only reviewed regulatory perspectives as biosimilars enter the market, but conveyed the importance of crafting antibodies to our own purposes.

For some time, cardiologists have wondered whether there was anything to be gained by pushing LDL or "bad" cholesterol to very low levels.

David Hafler, MD, chairman of the Department of Neurology at the Yale School of Medicine, spoke of exciting times in the field of genome-wide association study-specifically speaking to neurology, genetics, the environment, and the autoimmune response.

A study of a pair of large databases shows a strong link between obesity and heart failure.

The study finds one-quarter of the patients stop taking anticoagulants within 3 months and nearly three-quarters have stopped after 2.25 years.

The goal of medicine is function and health. Clinicians who marry technical skills with humanities can see their patients and themselves in the larger context of family, society, history, politics, and economics.

Presenters noted that this was an important but unusual trial, because it examined drugs not in isolation but how they are used in combination.

Patients who live with rheumatoid arthritis do not die from swollen joints but face twice the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

Be careful what you wish for:  SGR and FFS will be models of the past; the success of the APM and MIPS will rely on compensation, collaboration and participation; and, to date, much remains to be done in the development of quality-based payment reform under MACRA. 

The results point to the need for more study on the effects of long-duration blood pressure treatment to prevent cognitive decline, especially in the highest risk patients.

The results from a wide-ranging public health effort in Howard County, Maryland, show a decline in sugary beverage consumption nearly on par with early results from Berkeley, California, which passed the nation's first soda tax.

A review of data of patients with cardiomyopathy found that those who had used marijuana were more likely to be younger males with fewer pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors.

Telehealth broadly is about creating care connections across boundaries, care that encourages patients’ independence, prevention and wellness; and care that can be leveraged for needed interventions. If we get telehealth right we can reduce impact of what we know is a growing health workforce shortage and concurrently create a healthier, more engaged patient base.

The 12-biomarker test is gaining acceptance among rheumatologists and was recently added to a clinical guideline.

At the Payer Exchange Summit V, sponsored by the Community Oncology Alliance, oncologists and payers came together to discuss the role of collaboration and data sharing for the successful implementation of the Oncology Care Model.

At the Payer Exchange Summit V, sponsored by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), 2 employer groups and a provider participated on a panel to provide practical insight into the extraordinary challenges and decisions faced by employers and employees with a cancer diagnosis.

When transitioning towards value-based oncology, large employers should look to value-based models that have worked for other conditions, said Karen van Caulil, PhD, president and CEO of the Florida Health Care Coalition. These successful payment models include patient-centered medical homes, bundled payments, and accountable care organizations.

Many oncology practices are still trying to understand the new Oncology Care Model (OCM) structure and focus on data reporting as they simultaneously prepare to adapt to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), said Barry Russo, CEO of The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders.

What are some of the challenges that clinical practices will face as they implement the Medicare Oncology Care Model (OCM)? What are some of the strategies that have worked for practices using similar payment models? These were some of the questions discussed at the Payer Exchange Summit V.

At the Payer Exchange Summit V, sponsored by the Community Oncology Alliance, held October 24-25, 2016, in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, Bruce Gould, MD, presented an overview of how cancer care has improved over the years, what the challenges are, and how practices can adapt to payment reform.

Working under the assumption that the outcome of the presidential race is pretty set, Avik S. A. Roy and John E. McDonough, DrPH, MPA, pondered the potential health policy changes during a Hillary Clinton presidency with a Republican-controlled Congress.

Employers face tough decisions about rising costs, high-quality care, coordination of benefits, and workplace accommodations when employees are diagnosed with cancer, but they will always want to support those employees as best they can, according to Marianne Fazen, PhD, president and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health.

Adopting the Oncology Care Model (OCM) is a challenging task for oncology practices that have to redesign their practices, but the shift from volume-based to value-based care is the way of the future, said Kashyap Patel, MD, of the Carolina Blood & Cancer Center.

Healthfirst's Medicare Advantage members are largely low income, and actually poorer than its Medicaid members. In order to reach these members and foster trust, Healthfirst makes itself a part of the fabric of the community.

The Affordable Care Act’s changes in payment and reduction in benchmarks in Medicare Advantage raised questions about the future of the program that ended up being unfounded, said Sean Cavanaugh, deputy administrator and director of the Center for Medicare at CMS, during the opening keynote at America’s Health Insurance Plans’ National Conference on Medicare, held October 24-25 in Washington, DC.

Panelists in the Healthcare 2020 series discuss the challenges with the exchanges that will be waiting for the next president, the future of Medicaid expansion, and how the complexity of so many models is burdening ACOs.