Latest Conference Articles

Although Daniel George, MD, of the Duke Cancer Institute, sees value in cancer vaccines and expects they will start showing more benefit to patients, he acknowledges that a barrier to widespread use of cancer vaccines is that they don't show an immediate response.

There are 2 main ways big data has helped to advance cancer care, but the lack of interoperability in the United States limits some of the data that can be analyzed for quality purposes, explained Bobby Green, MD, MSCE, senior vice president of clinical oncology at Flatiron Health.

Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE, CEO of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), discusses the biggest concerns and opportunities facing members of AMCP during this time of legislative and regulatory uncertainty and rising costs in healthcare.

Negotiations among House Republicans have led to a compromise that would amend the American Health Care Act and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) is concerned the amendment would undermine patient protections that are important for people with cancer, said Leah Ralph, director of health Policy at ACCC.

Is rubber meeting the road with big data in cancer care? “No…rather, not yet,” Green said at the 2017 Community Oncology Conference, April 26-27, held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health, discussed the feedback he's heard from practices about the Oncology Care Model and how these opinions could be used to guide potential changes.

Christian Downs, MHA, JD, executive director of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, explains how the oncology workforce shortage needs to be addressed by both bringing talented doctors from abroad and raising the next generation in the United States.

Community oncologists believe that they are in a very good position to lead the way to achieve the goals of Cancer Moonshot.

Programs like One Great Community aim to engage communities in the process of population health research, which is a key to successful public health initiatives, explained Shauntice Allen, PhD, assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.

At the 2017 Community Oncology Conference, practice administrators from 2 community clinics discussed the changes they made to their practice to accommodate the reporting requirements of the Oncology Care Model (OCM), and the follow-up planned as they work to implement changes.

When the COA Patient Advocacy Network converged on Capitol Hill on April 26, 50 advocates were able to discuss their concerns with a number of issues facing patients with cancer, including 340B and clinic consolidation, explained Rose Gerber, director of patient advocacy for the Community Oncology Alliance (COA).

At the 2017 Community Oncology Conference, participants discussed the impact of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) on oncology drug prices and patient access to much needed treatments.

The playing field regarding Medicare reimbursement and drug pricing has to be leveled between hospitals and community oncologists in order for physicians to compete for patients on the basis of the quality of care they provide,

The first drugs for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) won't be approved until 2019 at the earliest, but with 16 million Americans affected and another 6 million to 10 million at high risk, the market could be expensive and it's worth keeping an eye on, said Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, senior clinical consultant for emerging therapeutics at Express Scripts.

By understanding the biology of myeloma tumor cells, researchers can better develop therapies, including drug combinations, that target the complex mechanisms at play in the disease, according to Shaji Kumar, MD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

As the use of e-prescribing expands, it will begin to encompass more than just writing an initial prescription to include many interactions between healthcare providers, according to Doug Hillblom, PharmD, president at Arena Healthcare, LLC.

When employing immunotherapies, oncologists must be vigilant in spotting any adverse events and calling in their colleagues, like dermatologists or pulmonologists, to help manage these toxicities, according to Matthew Gubens, MD, MS, assistant clinical professor of thoracic oncology at the University of California, San Francisco.

The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) heavily relies on member organizations throughout the development and implementation of new quality measures, explained Matthew Pickering, PharmD, RPh, associate director of research and quality strategies at PQA.

Richard J. Willke, PhD, chief science officer of ISPOR, previews the discussions at the ISPOR 22nd Annual International Meeting, which will be held May 20-24 in Boston, Massachusetts, including topics on the future of health policy in the United States and social networking interventions.

Real-world results for hepatitis C drugs have been very closely aligned to the clinical trial outcomes, which is likely due to a combination of factors, such as the effectiveness of the agents and better knowledge of using direct-acting antivirals, according to Gail Bridges, PharmD, of Accredo Health.

Two of the most important determinants of cancer outcomes are the culture and behavior of both the provider and the patient, explained Moon S. Chen Jr, PhD, MPH, professor of hematology and oncology at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator of The National Center for Reducing Asian American Cancer Health Disparities.

The Million Hearts initiative, with its goal of preventing a million cardiovascular events in 5 years, requires sustained efforts by cardiologists in conjunction with public health experts to achieve success, explained Janet Wright, MD, FACC, the program’s executive director.

After presenting the results of the REACH eCounseling hypertension intervention at the American College of Cardiology 66th Scientific Session, lead author Rob Nolan, PhD, CPsych, director of Cardiac eHealth at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and clinical psychologist and scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute, discussed his team’s plans for future eCounseling research.

The market for tardive dyskinesia, a movement disorder affecting 500,000 patients in the United States, will go from zero approved treatments to 2 in 2017, making it an important area to watch, said Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, senior clinical consultant for emerging therapeutics at Express Scripts.

With a new administration in the White House and the issue of repealing or replacing the Affordable Care Act not completely addressed, managed care pharmacists should feel heartened to know their voices and concerns are being heard, said Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE, CEO of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

At the American College of Cardiology 66th Scientific Session, Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, FASPC, president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, discussed why insurers are so reluctant to approve coverage of PCSK9 inhibitors and how this hesitance could harm patients who are denied access to the cardiovascular drugs.

The Million Hearts initiative, which aims to prevent a million cardiovascular events in a 5-year period, will focus on utilizing its partnerships with health systems and employers as it embarks upon its second phase, according to Janet Wright, MD, FACC, the program’s executive director.

Robert P. Giugliano, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discussed the findings of the EBBINGHAUS study on evolocumab’s effect on cognition, which he presented at the American College of Cardiology 66th Scientific Session. He also explained how that study was related to the highly-anticipated FOURIER trial.

Panelists, during a session on value and value-based reimbursement at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Annual Meeting, held March 27-30 in Denver, Colorado, discussed the benefits and challenges of value-based contracting and the current and evolving use of value frameworks.

Since the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare never made it to a vote, insurers are still very uncertain about the future of healthcare. At this time it is unclear whether Republicans plan to shore up the law or actively undermine it.