Laura Joszt, MA

Pharmacists can play an important role in dispelling myths about vaccines, as well as identifying patients who are eligible for vaccinations that they haven’t yet received, said Jacinda C. Abdul-Mutakabbir, PharmD, MPH, AAHIVP, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, Loma Linda University.

Intravenous (IV) robotic technology brings advantages for pharmacy staff, but there are also accuracy issues with the technology. In addition, this technology will not be replacing a pharmacy technician job, said Scott Soefje, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, FCCP, FHOPA, director of pharmacy cancer care and assistant professor of pharmacy, Mayo Clinic.

Due to anticompetitive practices, the United States lags Germany and Switzerland in the number of biosimilars on the market, while also having substantially higher prices for both biosimilars and reference products.

Marie A. Chisholm-Burns, PharmD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FCCP, FASHP, FAST, executive vice president and provost at Oregon Health and Science University, is receiving the award, which is presented to individuals who demonstrate excellence in pharmacy practice leadership.

At the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2022 Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exposition, Angela M. Hill, PharmD, CPh, RPh, professor and associate dean of clinical affairs; project director, WE-CARE, University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy, will receive the ASHP-ABHP Joint Leadership award for her leadership in addressing health equities.

Only 2% of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) received a cholangiocarcinoma diagnosis, and the diagnosis was not early enough for there to be a survival benefit.

Abstracts show that institutions can make internal changes to drive the use of biosimilars and that successful biosimilar-to-biosimilar switching is based on patient-related factors.

There are currently 3 FDA-approved therapies to treat cholangiocarcinoma with FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement, but these therapies face the development of resistance. Studies are underway to identify ways to overcome this resistance.

A bill introduced by Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, would prohibit the FDA requiring switching studies for biosimilars to gain interchangeability status.

There is a major role for telehealth in oncology care, not only for its convenience but also for giving clinicians the ability to scale nononcologic visits, explained Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, FACOG, assistant attending gynecologic cancer surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City and lead of the MSKCC Affordability Working Group.

Switching from the originator products to biosimilars or between biosimilars is safe and effective, according to a review of real-world studies.

In addition to the drug approval, the FDA approved a companion diagnostic to be used to identify patients who are eligible to receive the treatment.

The disease groups that make up the OneOncology clinical pathways program cover 90% of patients with cancer and develop best practices for treating cancer in the majority of patients, said Edward “Ted” Arrowsmith, MD, MPH, managing partner and director of research, East Tennessee Division, Tennessee Oncology.

With multiple biosimilars approved for a reference product and different payers preferring particular products, communication between the clinical pharmacy team and the managed care team is crucial, said Timothy Murphy, MD, FACP, medical oncologist/hematologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

The OneOncology Annual Conference is being held November 11-13 in Nashville, Tennessee, and brings together practice leaders, physicians, and advanced practice providers to discuss the business of oncology and scientific advancements, explained Davey Daniel, MD, chief medical officer of OneOncology.

Representatives across 12 disease groups make up a council that sets clinical recommendations for oncology care and those decisions are being pushed out in the electronic medical record for decision support at the point of care, said Jeffrey Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology, and executive chairman of the board, Tennessee Oncology. Patton will lead off OneOncology's Physician Leadership Conference, which runs November 11-13 in Nashville.

Ahead of the big wave of adalimumab biosimilars launching in the US market in 2023, rheumatologists report growing confidence in using biosimilars but remain concerned about their efficacy and economic benefit.

The 2023 Physician Fee Schedule final rule was released and swiftly drew condemnations from physician leaders because of a 4.5% cut to reimbursement.

Recent FDA approvals and therapies under FDA review are adding new treatments to the armamentarium, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

Having a plan in place to educate providers and the pharmacy team has contributed to the success that Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers (RMCC) has had with rapidly implementing biosimilars, said Timothy Murphy, MD, medical oncologist/hematologist with RMCC.

The latest updates in lung cancer screening guidelines will help address disparities in certain populations, but multiple barriers including access to programs and payer coverage remain issues.

Youths and young adults are the target demographic of sleek, colorful e-cigarette devices with flavorful nicotine.

In the Roger C. Bone Memorial Lecture in Critical Care at CHEST 2022, E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH, of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, highlights the need for humanism in the intensive care unit and how the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed what had been built up.

Patients with uveitis and their physicians may be very familiar with intravitreal injections, but triamcinolone acetonide injectable suspension (Xipere) has a novel delivery method, said Steven Yeh, MD, professor and the Stanley Truhlsen Jr. Chair in Ophthalmology at the Truhlsen Eye Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center.

As understanding of COVID-19 evolves and more evidence on treatments emerges, making sense of it can be a challenge for physicians.

One poster found patients with uncontrolled asthma had improved outcomes after escalating to triple therapy, while the other found a substantial portion of patients adherent to a dual therapy reported not having controlled asthma.

The first 5 minutes of a patient’s visit with a doctor can help improve communication and build more trusting relationships, explained panelists during a session on lung health disparities in America at CHEST 2022.

Biosimilars have had such an impact on driving down costs, that in some instances the reference product might be the lowest cost option, explained Paul Forsberg, PharmD, director of pharmacy, Minnesota Oncology.

While a majority of national lives are covered by vertically integrated insurers, the proportion varies widely at the state level from as low as 6% to as high as 97% of covered lives, according to a new American Medical Association (AMA) report about competition in the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector and insurance.

Even though there is a 1-year gap between the Oncology Care Model and the Enhancing Oncology Model, there remain value-based oncology payment programs with private payers, said Glenn Balasky, executive director of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.