Latest Conference Articles

The Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit always offers frank discussion, and this year's virtual format promises more of the same.

Bo Gamble, director of Strategic Practice Initiatives for the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), previewed the COA Payer Exchange Summit on Oncology Payment Reform ahead of the 2-day virtual meeting on October 27-28, 2020.

Although renal replacement therapy is a clinically meaningful end point, trials must include numerous patients and follow them for long periods of time, said Kunihiro Matsushita, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Division of Cardiology at Johns Hopkins University.

Understanding patients’ social determinants of health (SDOH), including their past experiences with discrimination and medical mistrust, can help improve patient-reported outcomes (PROs), according to new research.

During the upcoming Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Exchange Summit, a panel discussion on applying value-based insurance design (VBID) in oncology will explore ways in which the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis can be an opportunity for growth.

During Kidney Week, various studies discussed not only the effect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has on patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) but also new attacks of acute kidney injury (AKI) that can cause severe illness or even death.

The use of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations in assessing chronic kidney disease (CKD) for Black patients may lead to underdiagnosis and undertreatment, according to a nephrologist speaking at Kidney Week.

Several symptoms patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) experience are approved indications for medical cannabis, said Joshua L Rein, DO, FASN, a nephrologist at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City.

In reviewing the previous literature on health disparities in kidney disease, there is not a lot described in patients with kidney pathologies outside of ESKD and dialysis, said Jill Krissberg, MD, a pediatric nephrology fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine.

After conducting further genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we will be able to inform communities about the potential implications of gene expression in their kidneys, said Adriana Hung, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in an interview with Bryce Rowan, a statistical genetic analyst.

Additional studies about roxadustat, a drug in the new class of hypoxia-inducible factor stabilizers, were released during Kidney Week; one of them explored its role in lowering cholesterol in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and anemia.

The decision to go on dialysis is often automatic, but using a shared decision-making process reduces the chance that a patient will regret it later.

People who experience acute kidney injuries (AKIs) in the hospital have higher rates of cardiac disease and death compared with those who have been discharged, said Benjamin Griffin, MD, a nephrologist and assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa.

High incidence of kidney failure in minority groups can be attributed to faster progression of kidney function decline in these populations, said Guofen Yan, PhD, associate professor of biostatistics in the department of public health sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.

While sickle cell disease is not prevalent in the general population, the significant cost associated with the condition warrants action from payers and formulary decision makers to improve patient access and align cost with their budgetary goals.

In her presentation, Aimee Tharaldson, PhD, senior clinical pharmacist of emerging therapeutics at Express Scripts, discussed the upcoming pipeline of specialty drug approvals and their potential impact on the market.

In the current pipeline of specialty medications seeking approval, a majority of development lies within orphan drugs and cancer medications, said Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, of Express Scripts.

Vadadustat is an investigational drug belonging to a class known as hypoxia-inducible prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease.

The investigational drug finerenone met its primary endpoint in FIDELIO-DKD of slowing progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with type 2 diabetes and CKD, said Rajiv Agarwal, MD, MS, FASN, a professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine and a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The pressure on state budgets exerted by new approvals of costly therapeutics has led many states to implement legislation aimed at regulating drug prices, but the success of these efforts is not uniform across the nation.

During a session at CHEST 2020, Robyn Scatena, MD, director of critical care at Norwalk Hospital, outlined 2 communication models to help break bad news in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Rates of delirium for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) have skyrocketed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, said Brenda Truman Pun, DNP, RN, director of data quality, Vanderbilt Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship Center.

Experts presenting the American Society of Nephrology’s Kidney Week session entitled “From Kids to Adults: Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral and Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) Across the Life Course,” outlined the detrimental effects of childhood CKD and other kidney diseases on long-term health.

Americans not covered by Medicaid should be aware of 2 key factors: the use of copay accumulators in commercial health plans and management of emerging high-cost specialty prescription drugs.

It is still unclear why patients who should respond to anti–interleukin-5 therapies do not, noted Anne Reihman, MD, Division of Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine, University of Colorado.

A collaborative effort between the health system and health plan pharmacists, as well as care managers and prescribers is key to improving clinical, quality outcomes in value-based payment models.

In a session focused on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s (ASN) Kidney Week, experts highlighted the benefits of using this drug class in patients with kidney disease and outlined future steps for integration of care.

Artificial intelligence allows underserved populations to gain access to a radiologist, pointed out Anthony L. Loschner, MD, assistant professor and associate program director, Critical Care Fellowship Program, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

Many of the patients in our clinic system were not being screened for chronic kidney disease even though they exhibited risk factors, said Shweta Bansal, MD, FASN, associate professor of medicine in the nephrology division at the University of Texas Health Center at San Antonio.

Pharmacists have an important role to play in the success of value-based payment models, according to panelists who discussed their health plan’s value initiatives at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2020 meeting.