Latest Conference Content

Richard Kane and Caroline Pearson, both from Avalere Health, provided oncologists gathered at the 2018 Community Oncology Conference an overview of reimbursement programs offered by CMS and advice on navigating them.

At the 2018 Community Oncology Conference hosted by the Community Oncology Alliance, April 12-13 in National Harbor, Maryland, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, provided the audience with an overview of current and future plans of the regulatory agency, particularly its strides within the molecular diagnostic testing space.

The more data providers have on a patient, the better understanding they have about the type of treatment plan that works best with the patient’s goals, explained Torrie K. Fields, MPH, senior program manager of Palliative Care Program Design & Implementation for Blue Shield of California.

Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, associate professor, gynecologic oncology, University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the current standard of treatment for patients with advanced endometrial cancer as well as the role novel therapies, such as targeted therapies and immunotherapy, play in the treatment of the disease.

In the last few years, there’s been a real surge in interest in professional satisfaction in healthcare, according to Mark Friedberg, MD, MPP, senior natural scientist and director of the Boston office at RAND Corporation.

Getting to value in healthcare has proven to be difficult, but succesful programs have certain characteristics, said David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, president of The Commonwealth Fund.

Barbara Balik, EdD, MS, RN, co-founder of Aefina Partners and senior faculty at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, recognizes the positives and negatives of electronic health records.

While clinicians can have a bad reaction to the idea of “cookbook medicine,” it can really result in patients getting the best treatment, said Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, FACP, FRACP, president, Carolinas HealthCare System's Levine Cancer Institute.

M. Kristina Wharton, MPH, of the Department of Global Health Management and Policy at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, talks about the services federally qualified centers provide, specifically how they help patients access medications.

Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil, CEO and president of National Quality Forum, recognizes the importance of diminishing health disparities.

While there has been progress with using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to treat multiple myeloma, these treatments aren’t ready for prime time, said Nina Shah, MD, associate professor, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Tom Gallo, president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, discusses how burnout is on the rise, but being better addressed now, as well as how technology can both contribute to and alleviate burnout.

Thomas Graf, MD, chief medical officer and vice president, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, discusses the impact of new therapies on private insurance coverage for cancer patients.

Committees for Via Oncology meet frequently to update pathway platforms and support the growing needs of physicians, according to Kathleen Lokay.

Dan Klein, president and CEO of the Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation, lists possible policy changes that would strengthen the safety net.

It’s important to emphasize that this is not an opioid crisis, it’s a prescription opioid crisis, said Sean C. Dowdy, MD, chair, division of gynecologic surgery, department of obstetrics and gynecology, Mayo Clinic.

Government programs, especially Medicare, are stuck in the past and are not designed to accommodate advancements in modern technology, said Ed F. Haislmaier, the Preston A. Wells Jr senior research fellow at the Institute for Family Community, and Opportunity at The Heritage Foundation.

Physicians using molecular therapies need to be educated on where the therapies are best used during treatment, and patients need to understand that the radiation is safe for those around them, said Joe O'Sullivan, MD, FRCR, clinical professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast.

All members of the care team can get burned out, not just the physicians, explained Tom Gallo, president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers.

Gail Wilensky PhD, senior fellow at Project HOPE, addresses the shift to value-based care over the years and what can be done to keep moving forward.

Thomas LeBlanc, MD, of the Duke Cancer Institute, discusses how palliative care has evolved over the past decade for patients with blood cancers.

Children's healthcare is more than just the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The area of children's health policy is one that is largely misunderstood, said Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University.

Leigh Purvis, director of Health Services Research at AARP Public Policy Institute, discusses future policies that will relieve Medicare beneficiaries from some of their expensive out-of-pocket costs.

A clear majority of patients with cancer experience some sort of financial hardship, and the cost of care is something that weighs on the minds of patients and their families right from the moment of diagnosis, said Todd Yezefski, MD, senior fellow in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington.

Patients benefiting from federally qualified health centers tend to be sicker than the general population, but there are also disparities by state, explained M. Kristina Wharton, MPH, of the Department of Global Health Management and Policy at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

With more oncology patients receiving oral therapies, the pharmacist plays an important role in patient education and follow-up, said Stacey McCullough, PharmD, senior vice president of pharmacy at Tennessee Oncology.

mTOR is a very promising pathway because it’s so central in growth, migration, and survival of bladder cancer cells, explained Donna Hansel, MD, PhD, chief, anatomic pathology, UC San Diego.

On the closing day of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 23rd Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, Bijal Shah, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, presented on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and on the lessons learned from the application of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in this indication.

High costs in cancer care not only affects treatment outcomes for patients, but also their overall quality of life, explained Michele McCourt, senior director of the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation.

Dan Klein, President and CEO, Patient Access Network Foundation, discusses how the lack of a limit on cost sharing in Medicare affects patient outcomes and disease states that PAN Foundation is keeping an eye on.