Kathy Oubre, MS

This article first appeared on The Center for Biosimilars®.

The dysfunction with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) is so troublesome that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is currently investigating how they have driven up costs. Until May 25, the FTC is holding a public comment period on PBM practices.

Kathy Oubre, MS, discusses key takeaways from the cancer immunotherapy (CIT) roundtable and changes to her approach to CIT management in the future.

Ruben Mesa, MD, leads a discussion on key benchmarks and final thoughts about good-quality care programs for patients with MPNs, including parameters for judging efficacy and safety.

Jamile Shammo, MD, Ruben Mesa, MD, and Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, discuss having pharmacists on MPN care teams and the effect they have on patient compliance.

Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, provides insight on adherence programs for MPNs and discusses why patients may not be adherent to therapies.

Kathy Oubre and Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, address the lack of treatment adherence among patients with MPNs and how to overcome this with a best-practice approach.

Ruben Mesa, MD, shares his thoughts on stem cell transplantation related to progression-free survival in MPNs, and Kathy Oubre highlights the importance of good working relationships.

Jamile Shammo, MD, discusses creating individual treatment plans for MPNs and following patients to have a better understanding of how they will respond to treatment.

Michael Reff, RPh, MBA; Kathy Oubre; and Ruben Mesa, MD, discuss how telehealth, technology, and innovation have increased patient adherence and created touch points with patients with MPNs.

Jamile M. Shammo, MD, comments on telehealth and the impact on patients who have MPNs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kathy Oubre and Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, reflect on reactions to new guidelines for managing MPNs and how practices are integrating the new process, while Ruben Mesa, MD, shares his experience.

Ruben Mesa, MD, and Jamile M. Shammo, MD, discuss treatment guidelines, pathways, and pharmacologic treatment options that play a role in the standard of care for MPNs.

Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, and Kathy Oubre explain the internal guiding documents that aid a practice’s decision-making and workflow when treating patients with MPNs.

Ruben Mesa, MD, and Jamile M. Shammo, MD, discuss available treatment options, such as JAK inhibitors, and the goals of treatment for patients with MPNs.

Jamile Shammo, MD, reviews methods for approaching patient treatment of MPNs and how it differs for each patient and symptom.

Kathy Oubre and Michael Reff, RPh, MBA, explain how they built the process and success factors of quality oncology care for MPNs.

Ruben Mesa, MD, discusses presentation and diagnosis of MPNs as well as life expectancies of ET [essential thrombocythemia], PV [polycythemia vera], and MF [myelofibrosis].

Jamile Shammo, MD, reviews the various types of MPNs [myeloproliferative neoplasms] and how they differ from MDS [myelodysplastic syndrome].

In the past 5 years, a community-based cancer clinic has undergone a large degree of change to achieve its goals of practice transformation and value-based care (VBC).

The availability of biosimilars introduces competition based on price, offering a lower-cost alternative in the short term and helping to restrict—or even reverse—longer-term price growth.