COA: Community Oncology Alliance

Heading into 2019, the idea that oncology practices would fully embrace financial responsibility for clinical decisions still seemed far-fetched for many. And yet, when it was time to make the call, moving to 2-sided risk proved a “simple” decision, said Travis Brewer of Texas Oncology, who took part in a panel offering an update on the Oncology Care Model (OCM) at the start of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Exchange Summit, which opened Monday in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia.

Care coordination is crucial for mitigating challenges associated with aging and survivorship, explained Rose Gerber, director of patient advocacy and education for the Community Oncology Alliance.

Rose Gerber, director of patient advocacy and education for the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses how different structural barriers create access issues for patients looking to participate in clinical trials.

Through OneOncology, we will be able to identify best practices and support patients throughout the continuum of care, explained Jeff Patton, MD, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology.

While there are consequences of a 6-month episode of care under the Oncology Care Model (OCM), there will be trade-offs with any time window, explained Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, executive director, West Cancer Center, explains how partnerships like OneOncology can help community practices adapt to the rapidly changing cancer care and diagnostic landscape.

Encouraging clinical trial participation is the only way we’ll get the answers to the questions we need for future generations, explained Howard A. "Skip" Burris, III, MD, FACP, FASCO, president, clinical operations, and chief medical officer of Sarah Cannon Research Institute.

Rose Gerber, director of patient advocacy and education for the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses the importance of patient education in encouraging clinical trial participation, as well as the importance of trials being patient centered.

Clinical trials should be a part of the conversation early and throughout the cancer journey, explained Katie Goodman, RN, BSN, CCRP, director of clinical research, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

Under the Oncology Care Model (OCM), there's a wide range of practice sizes, creating challenges for evaluation, said Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

Jeff Patton, MD, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology, offers his reaction to CMS' proposal to ease restrictions on how Part D managed the 6 protected classes of drugs.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, executive director, West Cancer Center, explains reimbursement challenges that community settings face with access to multigene testing.

Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health, explains why it's important to evaluate the adequacy of the novel therapy adjustment under the Oncology Care Model (OCM).

As Howard A. "Skip" Burris, III, MD, FACP, FASCO, president, clinical operations, and chief medical officer of Sarah Cannon Research Institute, prepares to become the president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in June, he discusses what his focus will be.

In addition to helping make treatment decisions, COTA's real-world data platform can help oncologists understand and identify areas where there is treatment variability and help them work to contain cost in the long run, explained C.K. Wang, MD, senior medical director, COTA.

Clinical trial criteria is really about patient safety and making sure participating patients don't experience undue risks, explained Katie Goodman, RN, BSN, CCRP, director of clinical research, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

Early education and communication are needed for successful uptake of biosimilars, explained Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, director, Pharmacy Program Development for Biosimilars, Premier Inc.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, executive director, West Cancer Center, discusses his thoughts on calls for every person diagnosed with breast cancer to receive a multigene panel.

While the physician shortage is having an impact in rural areas, the impact of physician burnout is happening across the board, said Jeff Patton, MD, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology.

Part of the challenge has been the distribution of cost structure under the Oncology Care Model (OCM), particularly with respect to pharmaceuticals, explained Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

Real-world data offers a glimpse into what happens to patients treated by real-world doctors under real-world circumstances, explained C.K. Wang, MD, senior medical director, COTA.

The breast cancer community is very excited about the approval of atezolimuab for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, explained Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, executive director, West Cancer Center.

The guidances released by the FDA to expand inclusion criteria for cancer clinical trials is a step in the right direction, said Katie Goodman, RN, BSN, CCRP, director of clinical research, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

Xarzio currently has the majority of the market share for filgrastim products, explained Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, director, Pharmacy Program Development for Biosimilars, Premier Inc.

Jeff Patton, MD, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology, discusses results from Oncology Care Model (OCM) performance period 3 (PP3) and challenges his practice still experiences with the model.

Jeffrey A. Scott, MD, chief medical officer, Integra Connect, discusses how pharma can help community oncologists understand the value of novel and expensive therapies.

Results from performance period 3 (PP3) were somewhat concerning because the amount of practices that achieved a shared savings stayed stable from PP2, explained Basit Chaudhry, MD, PhD, founder of Tuple Health.

Step therapy, which requires that patients try the payer’s preferred treatment before the one a physician recommends, is harmful to both sides of the doctor-patient relationship, according to Lee B. Schwartzberg, MD, medical director of the West Cancer and Research Institute, who spoke at the 2019 Community Oncology Conference, held in Orlando, Florida.

Healthcare experts may agree the shift from volume to value is well under way, but the definition of value has many answers, according to pharmaceutical company representatives discussing the issue at the 2019 Community Oncology Conference in Orlando, Florida.

C.K. Wang, MD, senior medical director, COTA, explains how COTA's real-world data platform can benefit payers.