Latest Conference Articles

At the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, private payers discussed how they are working with accountable care organizations (ACOs) to create new opportunities in the commercial market.

During the opening plenary and panel at the fall 2018 meeting of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), Adam Boehler, of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, highlighted the fact that CMS has to provide predictability and simplicity to get more accountable care organizations to take on risk and succeed, but that those who are not "cutting it" should "get out of the way" for others.

Rob Fields, MD, assistant profession, family medicine and community health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and senior vice president, chief medical officer, population health at Mount Sinai Health System, discusses how Mount Sinai’s accountable care organizations (ACOs) will have to adjust to the proposed CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) changes.

Two posters presented at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) annual meeting, October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, lend support to the idea of targeted treatment for neuroendocrine tumors.

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting, held October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD, associate professor of medicine and consultant in medical oncology, Mayo Clinic, outlined the biggest news and updates in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (NANETS) annual meeting, held October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, Sukhmani Padda, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, gave an overview of updates made to lung neuroendocrine tumor guidelines.

Thorvardur Halfdanarson, MD, associate professor of medicine and consultant in medical oncology, Mayo Clinic, discusses peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and other new and exciting developments in the treatment of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are of 2 minds right now. On the one hand, there is a lot of excitement for the future of ACOs, but there is also great anxiety around the changes that CMS proposed for the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), said Clif Gaus, ScD, president and CEO of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS).

A retrospective analysis of clinical charts across multiple institutions has found that transitioning patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) to receive lanreotide after octreotide can be a potential therapeutic option.

The biggest challenge we have right now is how to sequence all of these therapies and how to pick the right patient to sequence those treatments, explained Scott Paulson, MD, co-director of the Gastrointestinal Research Program for The US Oncology Network, medical director for the Neuroendocrine Research and Treatment Center at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center.

Narrowing in on neuroendocrine skin cancer, a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, took an in-depth look at prognostics and treatment options for Merkel cell carcinoma in the United States.

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, panelists debated whether newer targeted agents should be considered for first-line treatment in well-differentiated G3 neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs), and if the standard of care—cytotoxic therapy—should still play a role in first-line treatment.

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) often care for patients with complex, chronic conditions that can lead to high expenditures and utilization of care. During a session at the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists discussed how ACOs can design and implement strategies that deliver high-quality, low-cost care for these patients.

At the National Association of ACOs Fall 2018 conference, being held October 3-5 in Washington, DC, panelists shared successful innovative initiatives that have been developed by their accountable care organizations (ACOs). What worked and what did not was the focus of the conversation led by Debbie Welle-Powell, chief population health officer, Essentia Health.

During a session at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, panelists discussed the benefits of integrative oncology and nutrition for patients with neuroendocrine tumors.

Somatostatin analogs have 2 roles in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETS): treating symptoms related to the tumors and controlling tumor growth, explained Heloisa Soares, MD, assistant professor, University of New Mexico Cancer Center-Albuquerque.

An interim analysis of somatostatin analog lanreotide depot presented at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting, held October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington, found that the treatment was effective in disease control and most patients were satisfied with the treatment.

Two studies presented at the North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society annual meeting October 4-6 in Seattle, Washington assessed different tools for determining quality of life among patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

The proposed CMS regulation to change the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) so that accountable care organizations (ACOs) take on risk faster creates a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t allow for variability, said Joe Antos, PhD, the Wilson H. Taylor Resident Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

Since they foot the bill for a lot of Americans’ healthcare costs, employers have a lot vested in the health of their populations and have been involved with pushing for healthcare transformation, said Suzanne Delbanco, PhD, MPH, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform.

After identifying patients with social needs, the best way to intervene and get them into needed resources is going to vary a lot, said Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH, investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research and lead research scientist at OCHIN.

While healthcare providers shouldn’t be expected to provide additional services outside of healthcare, they should be able to make referrals to things like child care or food banks, said Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH, investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research and lead research scientist at OCHIN.

The pace of change to value-based payments has been happening quickly, but the real test is whether or not these payments produce higher quality and more affordable care, said Suzanne Delbanco, PhD, MPH, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform.

Suzanne Delbanco, PhD, MPH, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform, explains how her organization is helping employers better understand accountable care organizations (ACOs) and judge how the ACO model might work with their population.

In some ways, healthcare is ready to take on addressing social determinants of health, but there still needs to be a cultural shift in mindset in a lot of ways, said Rachel Gold, PhD, MPH, investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research and lead research scientist at OCHIN.

A leader at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement offers a framework for diabetes educators to embrace a shift in thinking about healthcare delivery.

Tim Gronniger, MPP, MHSA, senior vice president of development and strategy at Caravan Health, discusses the struggles that organizations face when attempting to make a switch to new payment models, and how that switch can be improved in the future.

Three federal officials discussed the status of research, payer coverage, and referrals for the National Diabetes Prevention Program, as well as the rollout of the Medicare program for eligible seniors.

The rise of digital health alongside the transformation of reimbursement from fee-for-service to value-based care is allowing patients to fully participate in their own care, according to a leader with one of the top digital health companies in diabetes care.

Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, chief medical officer and senior vice president at Joslin Diabetes Center, said health systems need people with the skill sets that diabetes educators possess to make the transition to a reimbursement system based on quality, prevention, and eliminating costs.