Interviews

Anchalee Avihingsanon, MD, PhD, HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, is principal investigator of the ALLIANCE trial, currently evaluating the responses of treatment-naïve persons living with comorbid HIV/hepatitis B virus to a triplet regimen of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide vs dolutegravir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, speaks on the positive safety and efficacy profile shown in the DERMIS-1 and DERMIS-2 trials exploring use of roflumilast cream in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis, including those with intertriginous disease.

Hatim Husain, MD, discusses how National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines adjust to meet the treatment needs of patients with lung cancer.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), speaks on the quality of life burden she has experienced during her HS disease journey.

David E. Koren, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, AAHIVP, FIDSA, infectious disease clinical pharmacist at Temple University Hospital, discussed the risk posed by monkeypox among immunocompromised individuals and men who have sex with men, as well as the need for educational efforts to address misconceptions tied to the disease.

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, coauthor of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management,” discusses how the health care system can better suit the needs of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Different populations respond differently to drugs and treatments, but without adequate representation in clinical trials, it will be hard to judge the effectiveness of a new treatment, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

Everyone agrees that minimal residual disease (MRD) is the best prognostic tool for multiple myeloma, but there is disagreement on how to use the MRD results, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

While initially there was a need for education around biosimilars, now there is a need to keep an eye on the evolving biosimilar marketplace and update the formulary of biosimilar medicines, said Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

The ALLIANCE trial is investigating the responses of treatment-naïve persons living with comorbid HIV (PLWH)/hepatitis B virus to a triplet regimen of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide vs dolutegravir plus emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) testing is used to understand the depth of response, but currently the data at Emory are not used to make treatment decisions, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

David E. Koren, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, AAHIVP, FIDSA, infectious disease clinical pharmacist at Temple University Hospital, speaks on gaps in monkeypox vaccine availability and access and steps to improve response to the public health emergency.

The 1-year gap after the end of the Oncology Care Model (OCM) means some practices have to make hard decisions regarding cost of care or the financial health of the practice, explained Lalan Wilfong, MD, vice president of Payer Relations & Practice Transformation at The US Oncology Network.

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, is co-author of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management.” She spoke to The American Journal of Managed Care® about the findings of the report and how they can be incorporated into care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Hatim Husain, MD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, discuses must-haves for successful biomarker testing in lung cancer—in particular, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—and how the field is adapting to the targeted treatment needs of its patients.

The next step for health care professionals is to teach patients how to act on the data collected by intermittently scanned glucose sensing technologies, according to Viral Shah, MD, an endocrinologist and scientist.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, explained the utility of type 2 inflammation pathways and the microbiome in understanding the immune dysregulation associated with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, discusses the mechanism of action for roflumilast cream, the only phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in patients aged 12 and older.

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, is co-author of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management.” She spoke to The American Journal of Managed Care® about the findings of the report and how they can be incorporated into care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

In this interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, medical director of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital’s Cancer Service Line and co-director of medical research at Advocate Aurora Health, in Illinois, touches on several important topics within the melanoma space.

Adequate training will help physicians and researchers better address the needs of the communities they’re targeting, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

While the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) was involved in humanitarian work in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the crisis in Ukraine caused COA to set up a special committee to jump into action, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, COA.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of an article in the August issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about the premium tax credits for health insurance purchased through the health care marketplace, which were recently extended for another 2 years with the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Results from DESTINY-Lung01 have shown promising progression-free survival and overall survival with ongoing research that may lead to a future FDA approval in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), said Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine.

Insurance reimbursement for teleophthalmology services is not consistent among populations and only recently received a boost due to flexibilities allowed during the pandemic, said Parisa Emami-Naeini, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

Anchalee Avihingsanon, MD, PhD, HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, is principal investigator of the ALLIANCE trial.

Despite the Hospital Transparency Rule being in effect, the majority of 340B hospitals are not reporting their prices for top services and drugs, and those that have, reported on “egregious” markups, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, Community Oncology Alliance.

Brindley Brooks, who founded HS Connect (HSconnect.org), a patient advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), discussed step edits and other barriers to treatment caused by insurance requirements in the management of HS.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, discusses the need for increased research and awareness on intertriginous disease in psoriasis.

For vision-threatening diseases, such as diabetic macular edema (DME) understanding the economic value of treatments can help identify the direct and indirect benefits of different treatments, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.