Interviews

Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center, and professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses how value-based care can advance the quality of oncology care that it isn't currently.

Having the most up-to-date information on potential reimbursement and drug costs allows providers to educate patients and create payment plans that fits their needs, said Rhett Wilkerson, BA, director of patient financial services dedicated to American Oncology Network at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

I think there is a lot of confusion, especially in the patient community, about clinical research., explained Bradley Prechtl, MBA, chief executive officer of Florida Cancer Specialists and the American Oncology Network.

James Hamrick, MD, senior medical director at Flatiron Health, discusses how to turn patient feedback on what value means to them into actionable information.

Learn what works and then try to apply it to your marketplace, explained Tesh Khullar, senior vice president and advisor, Flatiron Health.

The local community doctor has an important role in recognizing, diagnosing, and managing myelofibrosis, said Naveen Pemmaraju, MD, associate professor in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Even without input from the Oncology Care Model, community practices can measure performance data through a robust electronic medical record like Flatiron, said Erich Mounce, chief operating officer, OneOncology.

Carolyn Starrett, senior vice president, Provider Solutions, Flatiron Health, discusses the importance of community oncologists collaborating and learning from each other to identify best practices.

Jan Hillert, MD, PhD, professor and senior physician in the department of clinical neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, discusses whether the medical community has reached a consensus on using an escalation approach to treatment or starting with highly effective therapies in treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

Greater impact from programs like 340B and site-neutrality, as well as, an emphasis on the economies of scale and economies of intelligence, can assist community oncology practices in delivering high-quality care, said Tracy Bahl, MBA, president and chief executive officer of OneOncology.

Ruxolitinib was recently approved to treat acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and trials are ongoing to understand the best way to use the treatment with transplantation, said David Snyder, MD, associate chair of the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope.

With all the consolidation that’s taking place, practices are still trying to grow, explained Terrill Jordan, chief executive officer of Regional Cancer Care Associates.

Employers did not intentionally set out to address social determinants of health, but the programs they were implementing were doing so, said Michael Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

By communicating with oncologists, Flatiron enhances their understanding of potential issues in clinics and how technology can enhance clinical workflow, said Bobby Green, MD, chief medical officer at Flatiron.

Tesh Khullar, senior vice president & advisor, Flatiron Health, explains what efforts are needed to make sure providers are comfortable prescribing biosimilars.

Lisa Lancaster, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health, discusses how sleep apnea is a comorbidity for other lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, executive director, West Cancer Center, looks back on the first year of OneOncology and discusses what's to come in the next year.

The healthcare system is heavily focused on removing low-value care from the healthcare system, explained Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center, and professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

We learn most when we have benchmarking and we can examine our own processes of care, explained Michael Kolodziej, MD, vice president and chief innovation officer at ADVI Health, Inc.

Carolyn Starrett, senior vice president, Provider Solutions, Flatiron Health, outlines how Flatiron's OncoEMR is helping practices reduce costs and succeed in value-based models.

Mental health care is an area of focus for the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, because this care is getting worse despite there being more acceptance regarding the need for improved mental health, said Michael Thompson, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

Offering clinical trials is paramount, explained Bradley Prechtl, MBA, chief executive officer of Florida Cancer Specialists and the American Oncology Network.

In order to understand what brings value to patients, you have to talk and listen to them, and you’ve got to do that in an intentional, thought through way, explained James Hamrick, MD, senior medical director at Flatiron Health.

Richard Snyder, MD, executive vice president of Facilitated Health Networks and chief medical officer at Independence Blue Cross, discusses how the increasing share of novel, costly therapies will impact the prevalence of value-based agreements.

Jeff Patton, MD, chief executive officer of Tennessee Oncology, discusses if there's concern over what comes when the Oncology Care Model (OCM) ends.

Practices are going to have to decide which biosimilar manufacturers they want to be able to partner with, explained Tesh Khullar, senior vice president & advisor, Flatiron Health.

Initiating sustainable growth in clinical practices can be difficult, but through economies of scale derived from partnerships and performance data collection, optimal care can be administered efficiently, said Erich Mounce, chief operating officer, OneOncology.

There are formal criteria to identify progression in myelofibrosis, but patients can progress in many different ways, said Prithviraj Bose, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center.