Interviews

Jordan Berlin, MD, FASCO, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explained how patient preferences and new treatments are considered, as well as what he is currently working on and his biggest takeaway from The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® held in Nashville, TN on August 17, 2023.

Curing cancer is something we all want to do, but logistical issues remain around translating that into practice, explained Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, medical oncologist with Advocate Health.

Biosimilars can improve access to treatment for patients who might not have been able to access biologics previously, explained Laura Wingate, executive vice president, Education, Support, & Advocacy, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO at SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, discussed the growing roles of middlemen between physicians and their patients in an increasingly complex system.

Jennifer Choe, MD, PhD, a head and neck medical oncologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discussed head and neck cancer relapse post-radiation therapy, new treatment trials, and any promising responses from them.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Foundation has launched an initiative to prioritize mental health care.

Kiana Mehring, MBA, director of strategic partnerships, managed care at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), discusses her role working in managed care and some of the new strategic partnership initiatives at FCS.

"We won't be content until this is indeed performed in 98% of babies," Stephen Kingsmore, MD, DSc, explains.

At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.

Joseph Aracri, DO, from Allegheny Health Network discussed how parents can help treat their child should they get respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and how severe this season will be.

According to new CDC research, 20% of mothers reported mistreatment while receiving maternity care for their youngest child.

Carmen Solórzano, MD, FACS, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses how Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) conducts tumor boards and explains how patient preferences are considered during them.

Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, highlights several potential strategies to address the historic lack of diversity in multiple myeloma clinical trial populations.

There seems to be an institutional ignorance toward social determinants of health and actually making changes to improve outcomes for patients of color, said Shrilla Banerjee, MD, FRCP, consultant cardiologist, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.

The EMPEROR trial showed that within 30 days of stopping empagliflozin, patients had a 70% higher risk of heart failure events, explained Milton Packer, MD, Baylor University Medical Center.

Nikolaus Marx, MD, professor of medicine/cardiology and head of the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, Germany, explains the new guidelines on screening for patients with type 2 diabetes and comorbid cardiovascular disease (CVD).

When determining the success of cardiology therapies, trials should focus more on softer end points like quality of life and psychological well-being, said Donna Fitzsimons, PhD, FESC, professor of nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Queen's University Belfast.

There is a lot of drug switching that's happening, whether it's for medical or nonmedical reasons, said Steven Deitelzweig, MD, system chairman of hospital medicine at Ochsner Clinical School, professor of medicine at the University of Queensland.

With nearly a third of patients post-myocardial infarction (MI) developing heart failure, prevention is very important, said Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, professor of medicine at University of Mississippi, president of the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute.

Catherine Nester, RN, vice president of physician and patient strategies at Inozyme Pharma, highlights the importance of newborn screening for rare diseases and the impact of the BeginNGS diagnostic tool.

Lucio Gordan, MD, president and managing physician, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), discusses how FCS has learned to adapt during difficult times, including COVID-19, Hurricane Ian, and current drug shortages.

Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD, director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discussed the uptake of zanubrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL).

Researchers and organizations must collaborate to address the persistent disparities in access to treatments for multiple myeloma, explained Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation.

Attendees should look out for results from the STEP HFpEF program and HEART-FID trial at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2023, said Stephen Greene, MD, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Joseph Aracri, DO, Allegheny Health Network, spoke with The American Journal of Managed Care® about preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) through immunoglobulin-based treatments and everyday actions.

Crystal Denlinger, MD, FACP, incoming CEO of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), talks about the organization’s challenges and solutions to keeping up with the ever-changing oncology landscape and improving patient access to guideline-recommended treatments.

Ahead of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2023, John McMurray, MD, FRCP, FESC, professor of medical cardiology at the University of Glasgow, previews some themes and important topics that will be discussed at the meeting.

Neil Goldfarb, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH), previews the upcoming GPBCH Wellness Summit taking place on September 14, 2023.

Stephen Kingsmore, MD, DSc, shares the exciting advancement of the BeginNGS newborn genomic sequencing program as it approaches the end of phase 2.

Gustavo Fonseca, MD, FACP, physician director of clinical research, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), discusses the results from a late phase complexity analysis on barriers to clinical trials regarding biopsy requirements.