Interviews

Bhavesh Shah, RPh, BCOP, chief pharmacy officer and director of specialty and hematology/oncology pharmacy at Boston Medical Center, talks about what oncology agents in the pipeline he hopes to see become available.

The latest real-world clinical practice data from the VICTORIA trial of vericiguat bolster previous data on the medication’s benefit by showing that 92% of patients hospitalized for a worsening heart failure event would be eligible to start the therapy and that doing so would reduce their risk of heart failure hospitalization and cardiovascular death, noted Stephen J. Greene, MD, Duke University Medical Center and the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

In the ENNOBLE-ATE trial, Michael A. Portman, MD, FAHA, director, Pediatric Cardiovascular Research, Center for Integrative Brain Research, and professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children's, and his team evaluated the safety and efficacy of edoxaban, a direct oral anticoagulant previously only used among adult patients, among pediatric patients with cardiac disease.

Daniel E. Weiner, MD, MS, board certified nephrologist and lead navigator at Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, spoke on the limitations and future potential of value-based payment systems for chronic kidney disease (CKD), including the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) Model and the Kidney Care Choices (KCC) Models.

Curtis Warfield, MS, senior quality analyst, Indiana State Department of Health, and regional leader of National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Advocacy Committee, spoke on limitations regarding the current process of educating and managing lifestyle interventions for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and how nephrologists can better integrate these strategies.

Douglas L. Mann, MD, professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and editor-in-chief of JACC: Basic to Translational Science discussed the first set of data reported on NTLA-2001, a novel investigative intravenous agent that targets the TTR gene and TTR protein levels, which have been shown to play a role in development of cardiac transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis.

Jen Gunter, MD, obstetrician and gynecologist, author, and specialist in chronic pain medicine and vulvovaginal disorders, spoke on the change in perspective regarding the medical and scientific community's role in dispelling health care misinformation on social media and in the press.

Jennifer Green, MD, professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, member of Duke Clinical Research Institute, and EMPA-KIDNEY collaborator, discussed findings of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial presented at Kidney Week 2022, which showed a 28% improvement for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on empagliflozin, whether in reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease or progression of CKD.

Access to care remains a key issue when trying to deliver equitable kidney health care to patients, explained O.N. Ray Bignall II, MD, assistant chief diversity and health equity officer at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Brent W. Miller, MD, board certified nephrologist and professor of clinical medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, discussed new and emerging technologies for at-home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, as well as efforts that have been made to address uptake issues for patients with kidney disease.

340B was developed with positive intentions, but has resulted in unintended consequences, said Edward J. Licitra, MD, PhD, chairman and chief executive officer, Astera Cancer Care.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of Dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, spoke on challenges in the management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), as well as promising therapies in the pipeline that target specific pathways suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disease.

Jim H. Rhodes, deputy county administrator, Camden County, New Jersey, spoke on how his organization’s membership with the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) has aided their value-based initiatives in improving health equity in the region.

Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, head and neck surgeon and director of clinical research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the results of study he and his team conducted in the setting of resectable stage II to IV cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Risk factors not properly addressed in patients with asymptomatic heart failure, such as high blood pressure and having diabetes or mild heart valve problems, can lead to structural heart problems or heart failure itself, noted Amresh Raina, MD, of the Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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

Michelle DeNault, senior benefit analyst, Wawa, spoke on her organization’s membership with the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH), specifically how tools provided by the Coalition and the Leapfrog Group have improved hospital price transparency for employers and beneficiaries in seeking value-based care services.

Susan E. Quaggin, MD, FASN, president of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) for the 2021-2022 term, discussed the major focuses and breakthroughs in nephrology to be presented at Kidney Week 2022, which include novel treatments for common and rare kidney diseases, as well as efforts to address disparities for transplant and care access.

Sibel Blau, MD, president and CEO of the Quality Cancer Care Alliance (QCCA), talks about why QCCA and National Cancer Care Alliance (NCCA) launched Exigent Research.

Neil Goldfarb, president and CEO of Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH), spoke on the biggest challenges facing GPBCH in advancing health care value, how national organizations are helping drive innovation, and the future role of business coalitions in the health care system.

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.

Tom Robinson, vice president of global access at JDRF, talks about the predictive modeling exercise used to develop and refine the Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) Index.

James Startare, vice president of benefits, Aramark, spoke about the different ways membership with the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH) has helped his organization.

The results of a study showing improved functional vision and retinal sensitivity have implications for gene therapy in ophthalmological conditions, explained Michel Michaelides, MD, FACP, a consultant ophthalmologist and a professor of ophthalmology at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology's Genetics Department.

Neil Goldfarb, president and CEO of Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH), discussed his initial motivations for launching a business coalition 10 years ago in the Greater Philadelphia region and what accomplishments GPBCH has had so far in driving health care value.

Athena Gierbolini, president of Hope for HS, a nonprofit advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), spoke on common stigmas regarding HS and how clinicians can improve consultation through a culturally sensitive approach.

Pharmacists must take time to understand why patients are not adherent to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and what barriers exist, said Kevin N. Astle, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, AAHIVP, CDES, assistant professor at the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy.

Several elements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) align with CMS’ goals of promoting equity through health policy, explained A. Mark Fendrick, MD, co–editor in chief of The American Journal of Managed Care® and director of the V-BID Center at the University of Michigan.

A medical student at the University of Kansas discusses a research project she started in her first year of school—2020—looking at whether a racial bias in pulse oximetry was present in patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.

Patients may be able to forgo radiation following use of cemiplimab to treat their resectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), as it is likely to demonstrate significant improvement in quality of life (QOL) for patients and enable less invasive surgeries, noted Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, head and neck surgeon and director of clinical research in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.