Latest Conference Articles

There is increasing evidence that improving patient outcomes and cultivating value in the healthcare environment will require health economics and outcomes research (HEOR). Nicole Hengst, research director, Health Strategies Group, provided a unique perspective into some of the ways that payers can utilize HEOR to guide their decision-making practices.

Jeffrey Albright, director national accounts, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, said that many patients' access to specialty pharmaceutical products can be limited as health plans struggle to control costs. He provided important insight into pharmaceutical manufacturers' strategies, which aim to optimize appropriate patient access to the medications and products they need through various services that can provide reimbursement support.

While the fee-for-service reimbursement model has long been accepted as the standard model in healthcare, it must shift to one that focuses on value. Value-based reimbursement will encourage stakeholders to achieve the triple aim: improve patient experience, better manage population health, and reduce per-capita costs of healthcare so that patients receive more for the dollar spent, said Dan Sontupe, executive vice president, payer marketing & market access, The Cement Bloc.

Reports that artificial pancreas technology is advancing, and that multiple projects will soon start "at home" studies, created excitement at the 74th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association.

Studies presented at the American Diabetes Association's meeting in San Francisco took a deeper look at what the presence of fat does to overweight children. Researchers found that signs of trouble emerge early, with implications for the treatment of youths with type 1 diabetes, and those at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

A symposium on the new drug class, SGLT2 inhibitors, drew plenty of interest from attendees at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco. SGLT2 inhibitors have gained notice, both for their ability to reduce A1C levels and for their potential to help patients lose weight.

A symposium that focused on the relationship between behavioral health and diabetes examined how the challenges of living with the disease wear on patients over time, ahead of results presented Sunday showing that much of what is diagnosed as "depression" in diabetes may not be. Presenters offered 3 models for better coordination of care.

Studies released at the 74th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association included results of programs to get patients to take more control over their own care.

A diabetes patient navigator program in Birmingham, Alabama, a joint project of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and Sanofi US, resulted in lower A1C levels for its participants. Patients also reported higher levels of satisfaction in managing their disease.

Two studies presented at the American Diabetes Association's 74th Scientific Sessions show that evaluating diabetes risk and patient health by nation of origin and ethnic background yields richer insights into how the disease affects populations.​

Trimming the costs of diabetes to the healthcare system will take multiple strategies, but there's a lack of consensus on precisely how each will work. Are the new recommendations on statins worth the cost?

For years, the standard for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been step therapy. Patients are told to make changes in their diets and to exercise more. Then, most start metformin; if T2DM progresses, doctors add drugs from among the dozen other classes, either alone but typically in combination.

Some experts argue that overdiagnosis (OD) and overtreatment (OT) of cancer is common and increasingly costly. Others argue that current cure rates are high because of the screening processes currently in place. Both viewpoints were debated during the session "Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment in Cancer: Point/Counterpoint."

The health services research poster session held in the afternoon on the penultimate day of the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) presented different perspectives on issues that determine patient care decisions. This is an important discussion, especially in light of the recent report by The Wall Street Journal on WellPoint's effort to promote oncologist adherence to standardized treatment guidelines.

The discussion on value in cancer care was rekindled today at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, but this time on a global scale. The session, "ASCO/European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) Joint Session: Value and Cancer Care," saw participation from physicians and economists from around the world, with individual perspectives on defining value and the programs being developed to address the issue.

Velcade (bortezomib), developed by Millenium Pharmaceuticals, is a proteasome inhibitor that is currently approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma and relapsed mantle cell lymphoma. Several abstracts were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology this year for its use in other indications.

The second day at the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology ended with a session entitled "Health Care in America in 2014: Current and Future Implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (PPACA). The presenters provided an overview of the recent and anticipated changes related to the PPACA as well as its timeline.

"The Value of Cancer Care and the Professional and Ethical Obligations of the Practicing Oncologist: A Debate" delved into the ethical issues raised by the economic reality of the rising costs of cancer care for the practicing oncologist.

ABT-199, the result of a collaboration between AbbVie and Genentech, is a selective, potent, orally available BCL-2 inhibitor. The drug is being developed in collaboration by the two companies for acute myelogenous leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

While the incidence of cancer continues to grow, novel and targeted therapies being developed have seen much improved survival for even the deadliest of cancers. New innovations in cancer diagnosis and treatment are associated with high cost. Cancer therapy constitutes nearly 11% of the total healthcare budget, and it is rapidly growing.

On the second day of the 50th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a session titled, "Targeting EGFR: the next 10 years" provided a progress report on the successful targeting of the protein in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Gregory L. Fricchione, MD, of Harvard Medical School, says that primary care physicians and specialists alike can benefit from a heuristic equation that considers a patient's stress and resilience levels.

Attendees at the 167th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), convening at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, appreciated Sunday's opportunity to hash out practical day-to-day issues at Meet the Author: Evidence-Based Guide to Antidepressant Medications and Antipsychotic Medications, with editor Anthony J. Rothschild, MD, director of the Center for Psychopharmacologic Research and Treatment, at University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Roger Kathol, MD, president of Cartesian Solutions, Inc, and professor of internal medicine and psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, says that health reform presents several opportunities for psychiatrists.

Modern life is full of stress, and understanding how stress affects the brain is essential to developing ways to prevent its harmful effects on the body, according to Gregory Fricchione, MD, of Harvard Medical School.

Steven S. Sharfstein, MD, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, says that patients with mental illness who are insured under Medicare or Medicaid will feel the effect of health reform in terms of cost control and quality-focused care.

The theory behind integrated care models in mental health is easy to grasp: Those who have depression or anxiety often have other problems, such as high blood pressure or unexplained pain, so having a psychiatrist collaborate with a primary care physician (PCP) makes sense.

In 2010, the topic of integrated care in mental health was still at the edges of practice, so much so that the topic only merited a single workshop at the meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in New Orleans.

Anthony J. Rothschild, MD, says that barriers to expensive antipsychotic drugs are shortsighted. He adds that the American Psychiatric Association, in accordance with some in Congress, recently rejected a CMS decision that would have restricted the number of antidepressants and antipsychotics Medicare beneficiaries could receive.

Patrick J. Kennedy, former US Representative for Rhode Island's 1st Congressional District, says that he authored the Mental Health Parity & Addictions Equity Act in 2008, which was then incorporated into the Affordable Care Act in 2010. The parity law went into effect in January 2014, and by 2015, more health plans are expected to be covered under it.