Interviews

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president of Texas Oncology, explains recommendations for annual mammography screenings after COVID-19 vaccination and why guidelines differ for diagnostic visits.

There is some confusion about the differences between the European and American guidelines on lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, but it’s clear that lower is better, said Pam Taub, MD, FACC, professor of medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, director of pharmacy services at Emory Healthcare and Winship Cancer Institute, explains how payers can play an essential role in improving biosimilar adoption.

William Schaffner, MD, medical director at the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), and Patsy Stinchfield, RN, MS, CPNP, president-elect of NFID, discuss health care disparities related to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well as solutions to close these gaps.

A child’s schooling is affected by the impact of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), explained Colette Romero, whose son has the disease.

Camille Hertzka, vice president, head of oncology, US Medical, AstraZeneca, discusses why so much excitement has been generated for the use of olaparib (Lynparza) in the first line for patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Zahra Mahmoudjafari, PharmD, BCOP, clinical pharmacy manager at the University of Kansas Health System, gives her take on what payers should keep in mind when dealing with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies.

Pipeline forecasting can provide payers better insight into which expensive specialty drugs coming down the pipeline they should be keeping their eyes on, according to Katie Lockhart, MA, manager at Magellan Health.

Chelsee Jensen, PharmD, pharmaceutical formulary manager at Mayo Clinic, explains how the process of implementing biosimilars may differ depending on practice size.

Orly Vardeny, PharmD, MS, core investigator, Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research, and associate professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, discusses key barriers to access of novel therapies and what sessions she’s looking forward to during the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) 71st Annual Scientific Session.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, discussed some of the regulatory and legal hurdles that generic and biosimilar companies have to face on the road to market launch.

Everything from the genomic data for the cancer to the zip code of a patient matters when delivery care, said Edmondo Robinson, MD, MBA, MS, FACP, senior vice president and chief digital officer at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Michael Ciarametaro, MBA, vice president of research at the National Pharmaceutical Council, discusses the balance between lowering drug prices and encouraging innovation in new drug classes for serious diseases.

Traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk prediction models may not apply accurately to patients with HIV who may develop the cardiovascular disease younger than usual, said Jorge Plutzky, MD, director of the Vascular Disease Prevention Program and director of Preventive Cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

The accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the new ACO REACH model will have a health equity benchmark adjustment and need to collect more data to help better understand the populations being cared for and serve those from underserved communities, said Michael Chernew, PhD.

Jonathan Kentley, MBBS, MSc, research fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains ways artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in dermatology, including smartphone applications, at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

Bernice Kwong, MD, clinical professor of dermatology, Stanford University, expands on her session about graft-versus-host disease diagnosis and management presented at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, emphasizing the importance of the relationship between patients and doctors.

It’s important that patients understand the likely outcomes, problems that can occur along the way, and the risks of a treatment or procedure, explained Robert G. Fante, MD, FACS, president of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and facial plastic surgeon and cosmetic surgeon, Fante Eye & Face Centre in Denver, Colorado.

David Rosmarin, MD, vice chair of research and education, Department of Dermatology, Tufts Medical Center, discusses best practices for choosing biologics, as well as his late-breaking findings on ruxolitinib cream for vitiligo at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting.

Robert Sidbury, MD, MPH, chief, Division of Dermatology, Seattle Children's Hospital, sat down to discuss comorbidities newly associated with atopic dermatitis at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

Alan Menter, MD, chairman of dermatology, Baylor University Medical Center, discussed some of the updated psoriasis guidelines at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

The lack of racial representation in dermatology education prompted the launch of Project IMPACT, explained Art Papier, MD, dermatologist, CEO, VisualDx at the 2022 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

Melissa Andel, principal at CommonHealth Solutions, previewed her session on policy making and pricing reform at the upcoming Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's annual meeting.

There is evidence that people with HIV may have increased risk of cardiovascular disease and researchers are still trying to understand why, said Jorge Plutzky, MD, director of the Vascular Disease Prevention Program and director of Preventive Cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Robert Sidbury, MD, MPH, chief, Division of Dermatology, Seattle Children's Hospital, spoke on considerations for dermatologists in seeking payer coverage of novel, expensive therapies for atopic dermatitis.

Angela Storseth-Cooper, associate director, Government Relations & Public Policy, The US Oncology Network, discusses state-level legislation that community oncology practices can leverage to address issues involving pharmacy benefit managers and the vertical integration of health plans and specialty pharmacies.

Roxana Siles, MD, FAAAAI, codirector of the Asthma Center at Cleveland Clinic, discusses the challenges of managing patients with chronic cough.

At the 2022 Community Oncology Conference, Elizabeth Spurlock, MA, PHR, director, Human Resources Business Partner, Texas Oncology, discussed the prevalence of burnout among physicians, staff, and administrators, and several strategies to reduce risk and support the health care workforce.