Interviews

Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician of Neurology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago discusses how new treatments will influence future care guidelines for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, discussed what needs to happen to ensure telehealth is safe and accessible to patients post-pandemic.

Through heightened awareness and education on skin disorders in Parkinson disease (PD), neurologists and dermatologists can better recognize PD-related manifestations that are present on the skin and direct patients to the optimal source of care for these issues.

Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician of Neurology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, discusses the future of combination therapies in the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) space.

Jeffrey Hogan, Northeast regional manager of the Rogers Benefit Group and member of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Business Group on Health, discussed how his organization helped providers navigate some of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Nicole Neumarker, executive vice president of development and innovation at Cotiviti, discusses the key areas to remember when developing new data models in health care.

The Midwest Business Group on Health's program this week on behavioral health will explore strategies that employers have implemented to address rising anxiety and financial stressors in the workforce amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The abnormal clumping and accumulation of alpha synuclein has been shown to cause and spread dysfunction in cells, leading some to characterize Parkinson disease by proteinopathy or as a protein disease.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, president and CEO at SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, discusses how data can help ensure that vulnerable populations aren't harmed by value-based payment models.

With the onset of the pandemic, the increased use of telemedicine has been the biggest change to how cancer care is being delivered; however, whether telemedicine is here to stay depends on the regulators and payers, said Amy Ellis, chief quality officer at Northwest Medical Specialties.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, discussed his recent paper that addressed the importance of increased utilization of community health care workers.

Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician of Neurology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, discusses the safety and efficacy of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatments.

In addition to coronavirus disease 2019, several other factors will play a major role in health care policy reform for federal and state-level health officials this year, including the transition to value-based care and containment of high health care costs.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, previews some of the topics of discussion for his talk with former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the upcoming 2021 Health Datapalooza and National Health Policy Conference.

Robert K. Massie Jr, PhD, MA, of the Society for Progress, was born with severe factor VIII hemophilia in August 1956. He contracted HIV in 1978 and later hepatitis C, both from contaminated blood products.

Ohio dermatologist Matthew J. Zirwas, MD, offers his view on what step therapy would look like in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Timing of relapses in multiple sclerosis is one of several interactions among aging, the trajectory of progressive disease, and worsening disability, according to Burcu Zeydan, MD, assistant professor of neurology, assistant professor of radiology, at the Mayo Clinic.

Whereas patient care was often bogged down in bureaucracy when he was younger, Robert K. Massie Jr, PhD, MA, of the Society for Progress, notes that hospitals and caregivers are increasingly paying attention to what makes sense for patient care.

Several initiatives help to provide free clinical research and education to promote diversity and inclusion in clinical trials, as well as to spotlight and destigmatize mental health issues, noted Angela Colon-Mahoney, MS, Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc.

Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician of Neurology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago discusses how the pandemic has impacted access to spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treatments.

Brandi Riddle, chief financial officer at Strive Health, discussed the role technology and predictive analytics will play in changing kidney care in the future.

Skin disorders in Parkinson disease can be classified into 2 major groups: noniatrogenic, which are more prevalent in people with PD and not related to therapy, and iatrogenic, which are caused directly by antiparkinsonian therapies.

There needs to be a better understanding of cough drivers in patients as treatments have stopped working, said Krishna M. Sundar, MD, clinical professor, Pulmonary Division, Department of Medicine, and medical director, Sleep-Wake Center, University of Utah.

Electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) tools can benefit patients by keeping them on treatment longer, and the pandemic has likely accelerated how many practices move to using ePROs, said Amy Ellis, chief quality officer at Northwest Medical Specialties.

Through an organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives, the biopharmaceutical industry can better serve historically underserved populations and cultivate a more diverse workforce and inclusive culture.

Vamshi Rao, MD, attending physician of Neurology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, discusses how disease modifying therapies have improved spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) prognosis.

Telemedicine sprang up very quickly and will stay around to some extent once the pandemic ends, said Peter McAllister, MD, a neurologist, board certified headache specialist, and medical director of the New England Institute for Neurology and Headache.

Several factors will have a significant impact in the health care industry in 2021, such as management of disparities in vaccine administration and greater investment in telehealth, said Gurpreet Singh, MBA, US Health Services Leader at PwC.

Daratumumab represents an important addition to the armamentarium of care for improving patient outcomes, said Mark Wildgust, PhD, vice president of Global Medical Affairs/Oncology at Janssen.

Although Parkinson disease (PD) is often characterized as a motor disorder, the presence of nonmotor symptoms, such as skin disorders, is common and may provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD.