Latest Conference Articles

A panel of experts highlighted a number of emerging product solutions that can help health plans overcome challenges associated with financing and reimbursing gene and cell therapies and offered insight into how these solutions can be expanded as more therapies enter the market.

Paradoxical bronchospasm, although rare, should be recognized more often in spirometry tests, said pulmonologist Malvika Kaul, MD, who discussed study findings from a population of veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, where the possibly life-threatening condition was not picked up in lung tests.

Multiple trastuzumab biosimilars were approved and launched very quickly in the United States, which sets up an interesting scenario in the market to see the nuance of having multiple options available, said Cate Lockhart, PhD, PharmD, MS, program, director, Biologics and Biosimilars Collective Intelligence Consortium (BBCIC).

Large health system pharmacies need to first identify their own contributions to health care disparities before identifying areas of opportunity to address the issue, said Aimee Loucks, PharmD, manager, specialty clinical pharmacy programs and formulary, Kaiser Permanente.

A panel of experts at AMCP Nexus 2021 explored multiple ways that health plans and providers can begin to address disparities in health care and offered recommendations on how to implement these tactics effectively.

Nicole Herbst, MD, a pulmonary and critical care fellow, talks about how visitor restrictions and communication practices in intensive care units (ICUs) during the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted provider job satisfaction and were linked to job burnout, according to a survey presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021.

A panel discussion at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021 discussed disparities related to race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status that have been shown to impact access to high-quality lung cancer care.

At a session of the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021, specialists reviewed the need for a thorough diagnosis to tell whether a patient's symptoms are caused by asthma or another pulmonary condition.

Researchers at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2021 addressed the evolution of COVID-19 variants, how these emerging strains impact vaccines, and preventive recommendations for at-risk populations.

There are several reasons as to why precision therapeutics have not taken off for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the same way that they have for other diseases, said Don Sin, MD, FRCP, MPH, a professor of respiratory medicine at the University of British Columbia and head of the Centre of Heart Lung Innovation, St. Paul’s Hospital.

Panelists of a session at CHEST 2021 discuss the latest research regarding efficacy and safety of therapies in the management of asthma, including biologics, corticosteroids, and more.

Evan L. Stepp, MD, FCCP, CPE, a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health, director of the Highlands Ranch Clinic, and an assistant professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, discussed the recent FDA decision to authorize an e-cigarette intended to help current smokers quit combustible cigarettes.

Mariam Lewis, MD, FCCP, a pulmonologist at UF Health and the UF College of Medicine, discusses why women are more sensitive to the effects of tobacco.

The fall meeting has multiple sessions on different aspects of health disparities and addressing drug costs, including 3 sessions on biosimilars.

Tackling disparities in diabetes management first requires collecting data and identifying affected groups before being able to take action, explained Brenden O'Hara, RPh, BCACP, from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Don Sin, MD, FRCP, MPH, who is presenting at CHEST 2021 on the topic of precision medicine and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, discusses other topics of interest at CHEST 2021, which takes place virtually from October 17 to October 20, 2021.

Compared with conferences held a year ago at this time, when vaccines were not yet available and the United States had yet to hit the peak of the pandemic, there are now more data to discuss about what we know and do not know about COVID-19.

An overview of the significance of the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research Award and why the early career achievements of this year's recipient, Christopher M. Whaley, PhD, in the field of managed care deserved recognition.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) was a great program that led to practice transformation and improved patient care, but there needs to be a way to address the high cost of cancer therapies, said Marcus Neubauer, MD, chief medical officer of the US Oncology Network.

Experts who took part in Patient-Centered Oncology Care® 2021 said when guidelines recommend high-cost targeted therapies or immunotherapies, the focus must turn to areas such as imaging, diagnostic tests, and other elements that contribute to the cost of care.

The second day of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® 2021 featured a panel discussion, “Oncology Care Transitions: Bridging the Gaps Across the Patient Journey.”

With the Oncology Care Model (OCM) slated to end in 2022, the successor model is still not in place. According to panelists, there is likely going to be a gap after OCM ends and the new model begins, but more importantly, practices should prepare for the new model to be mandatory.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, OCM should continue in its current form, said Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associations, current president of the Community Oncology Alliance, and co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care®.

The pandemic has acted as a catalyst to increase the use of digital health and telemedicine, allowing providers to continue to deliver great care and even reach their rural patients, said Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology.

In the opening sessions at the Patient-Centered Oncology Care® conference, held September 23-24 both virtually and in Nashville, Tennessee, speakers focused on addressing disparities by getting involved and engaged with the community.

Having the option of receiving care in their community instead of a large hospital located hours away is not only a benefit for many patients, but research is showing community oncology practices are a low-cost, high-quality provider of care, explained Jeff Patton, MD, executive chairman of Tennessee Oncology and CEO of OneOncology.

On the opening day of Patient-Centered Oncology Care, Robert Groves, MD, of Banner | Aetna, discussed the use of psychographics to predict health behavior in local populations.

Remote patient monitoring includes urgent care uses, long-term monitoring to help keep patients with cancer out of the hospital by monitoring the effects of oncology treatment at home, and even voice monitoring to check for altered mental status, said Elizabeth Kwo, MD, MBA, MPH, the deputy chief clinical officer at Anthem BCBS, and a speaker at the 10th anniversary of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® conference.

At the 10th anniversary meeting of Patient-Centered Oncology Care®, sessions will cover reducing disparities in cancer care, bringing clinical trials closer to the community, and expanding the scope of what the term "precision medicine" means in cancer care.

Iksha Herr of Microsoft previews her talk on leveraging data and artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, which will be a high point of this year's Patient-Centered Oncology Care® (PCOC) conference.