Interviews

Different factors have contributed to the lack of racial diversity in ophthalmology residency programs, and these programs build the future of the workforce, said Parisa Emami-Naeni, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

Carmen Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP, is a general internist and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

Bhavesh Shah, RPh, BCOP, chief pharmacy officer and director of specialty and hematology/oncology pharmacy at Boston Medical Center, goes over his session to be presented at the fall meeting of AMCP Nexus 2022.

Congress should build on the value-based insurance design (VBID) elements included in the Inflation Reduction Act to further alleviate the burden of health care costs on Americans, said A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co–editor in chief of The American Journal of Managed Care® and director of the V-BID Center at the University of Michigan.

With more and more biosimilars reaching market, there are considerations around whether to keep patients on their current biosimilar or switch them to another biosimilar as the market dictates, said Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the findings and implications of his study on the efficacy of JZP-258 in patients with narcolepsy and cataplexy.

Melissa O'Connor, PhD, MBA, RN, FGSA, FAAN, endowed professor in Community and Home Health Nursing, M. Louise Fitzpatrick School of Nursing, Villanova University, and director, Gerontology Interest Group, addressed gaps in research for home health care and progress toward the development of a discharge decision support tool for clinicians.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected by hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), discussed several pressing issues that warrant consideration to improve the care management of HS.

Tom Robinson, vice president of global access at JDRF, explains how to navigate the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Index and what data can be pulled from it.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, discussed recent advancements in immunotherapy for atopic dermatitis and what unmet needs persist to address uptake issues and patient-specific care needs.

With multiple pathways and stakeholders involved, there needs to be an arbiter who decides what is the highest quality and highest value care in oncology, said Lucy Langer, MD, MSHS, national medical director, oncology and genomics, UnitedHealthcare.

Elements inspired by the principles of value-based insurance design (VBID) were incorporated into the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, which could help reduce costs of care for patients, according to A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co–editor in chief of The American Journal of Managed Care® and director of the V-BID Center at the University of Michigan.

At the American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual conference, Rona Z. Silkiss, MD, FACS, an oculoplastic surgeon and owner of Silkiss Eye Surgery, dived into how biologic therapies can be used to treat thyroid eye disease and what can be done to ensure patients have access to these treatments.

Michael N. Cohen, MD, a retinal surgeon at Wills Eye Hospital and Mid Atlantic Retina, describes the differences between wet and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and how gene therapy could help treat the condition in the future.

It is an exciting time in the field of retina for emerging technologies, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Amresh Raina, MD, director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Pulmonary Hypertension Program at Allegheny General Hospital and the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a board-certified advanced heart failure cardiologist, who is also certified in echocardiography and general cardiology.

Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, is head and neck surgeon and director of clinical research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at MD Anderson.

Richard C. Allen, MD, PhD, FACS, an oculoplastic surgeon at Texas Children's Hospital and a professor at Baylor College of Medicine, spoke on how oculoplastic surgery in pediatric patients has changed at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2022 conference.

Advances in imaging and data science are changing the nature of retina practice, and retina specialists need to stay on top of these, said Michael F. Chiang, MD, director of the National Eye Institute (NEI), who also discussed some of the current research the agency is conducting into artificial intelligence (AI) and telemedicine.

Co-hosted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the most recent Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event took place on September 22, with a focus on improving cancer care delivery through innovation.

Gene therapy can be used to treat retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease, and there is likely to be an increase in approved gene therapies for ophthalmic conditions, explained Michel Michaelides, MD, FACP, a consultant ophthalmologist and a professor of ophthalmology at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology's Genetics Department.

The ophthalmology practice of the future will need to manage patients more efficiently and that means incorporating more technology, said Ravi Goel, MD, spokesperson for the AAO and ophthalmologist at Regional Eye Associates in New Jersey.

Targeted therapies have improved outcomes for patients with lung cancer, but the goal needs to be tailoring the right therapy to the right patient, said Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine.

There has been a sea change in how retina specialists treat retinal diseases, with a progressive shift toward more utilization of anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Ophthalmology is image heavy, which has made the specialty amenable to telemedicine and the implementation of artificial intelligence, said Grayson Armstrong, MD, medical director, ophthalmic emergency services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and instructor in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.

During the Parker Heath Lecture at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting, James Madara, MD, CEO of the American Medical Association (AMA), will discuss the 3 arcs of the AMA’s strategic framework and the innovation that needs to occur.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting will present cutting-edge topics on retinal disease, as well as feature a presentation from historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, said Ravi Goel, MD, spokesperson for AAO and ophthalmologist at Regional Eye Associates in New Jersey.

When converting a patient to a biosimilar, having clear and consistent messaging will reduce confusion and prevent patients from having a lack of trust in the process, said Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.