Interviews

Addressing racial disparities in skin cancer involves education, understanding rates of risk and ethnicity, and knowledge of the different types of melanoma, which makes skin cancer disparities complex to attack, said Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair in the Department of Dermatology and director of the Melanoma Research Program at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University.

Debra Boyer, MD, pediatric pulmonologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and co-chair of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference Committee, highlights the need for more specialized care and research for children with respiratory diseases, who don't have access to the same therapies and testing as adults.

Rupal Shah, MD, associate professor at the University of California San Francisco, talks about how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity for patients who have undergone a lung transplant to undergo spirometry testing at home instead of at the the hospital.

Mark A. Socinski, MD, executive director of the AdventHealth Cancer Institute, shared his thoughts on the most important recent advances in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including a better understanding of patients who may benefit from immunotherapy.

Gene therapies like RGX-314 are looking to treat very common diseases in ophthalmology, which would represent a tremendous opportunity for chronic disease management, said Charles C. Wykoff, MD, PhD, of Retina Consultants of Texas and the Blanton Eye Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Telehealth provides more flexibility for patients with gastrointestinal issues to better fit their care into their lives and around symptoms they may be experiencing, said Sam Holliday, co-founder and CEO of Oshi Health.

Myasthenia gravis expert James F. Howard, Jr, MD, professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, explains the burdens that step therapy places on patients with rare diseases and their providers.

Melinda Gooderham, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Peterborough Regional Health Centre in Ontario, Canada, discusses recent trials and studies that have been conducted on emerging therapies for patients with atopic dermatitis.

Milena Pavlova, MD, neurologist, and medical director of the sleep testing center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner hospital, talks about how factors such as the sedative effects of anti-epileptic medications can mask sleep issues and diagnoses in people with epilepsy.

Precision medicine starts with the patient-physician relationship, and this also involves an entire care team, emphasized Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, medical oncologist with Advocate Health.

Joel Segel, PhD, associate professor of health policy and administration at Penn State University, talks about what he's looking forward to as a member of The American Journal of Accountable Care's editorial board.

Horace DeLisser, MD, associate dean for diversity and inclusion in undergraduate medical education at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and associate professor of medicine in the pulmonary, allergy, and critical care division, looks forward to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) international conference to reconnect with friends and colleagues and stay up to date on clinical knowledge and controversial topics.

Nicholas Bagley, JD, says immediate effects of the ruling have been modest so far.

There is a concerted effort to identify biomarkers to understand the risk of progression of diabetic eye disease, but many studies have not been performed in diverse populations, explained Jennifer K. Sun, MD, MPH, associate professor of ophthalmology and chief of the Center for Clinical Eye Research and Trials, Harvard Medical School; and chair, DRCR Retina Network.

The best leaders are those who foster open communication, says Lee A. Norman, MD, MHS, MBA, who appeared at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® event on population health in Kansas City, Missouri.

Elizabeth Johnson, LPN, PACS, BPCA, CEO of MedicoCX, co-CEO of Healthcare Advocate Summit, and an Asembia 2023 presenter, discusses why more empathetic approaches that take into account the full range of the patient experience are needed to improve patient-focused health care.

Jessica Robinson-Papp, MD, MS, professor of neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, talks about the strides made in antiretroviral therapy for HIV and how these improvements lead to better patient outcomes.

Milena Pavlova, MD, neurologist, and medical director of the sleep testing center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner hospital, says that sleep apnea is more common in men until after women experience menopause.

Milena Pavlova, MD, neurologist, and medical director of the Sleep Testing Center at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, highlights how even mild cases of sleep apnea can increase the number of seizures a patient with epilepsy experiences and harm organs.

Kevin Davies, PhD, executive editor, The CRISPR Journal and GEN Biotechnology, discusses how CRISPR technology has seen success and potential areas for future application.

Fran Gregory, PharmD, vice president of emerging therapies at Cardinal Health, discusses the role the new wave of biosimilars will have on rebate practices for both pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and payers.

Cost sharing for several treatments could disappear following the Braidwood v Becerra ruling, according to A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the V-BID Center at the University of Michigan and co-editor in chief of The American Journal of Managed Care®.

Keeping up-to-date on information, whether it is about clinical matters or information systems, is critical to a deliberate learning mindset that is beneficial to health care providers, says Lee A. Norman, MD, MHS, MBA, the senior medical director for Optum Care Kansas City.

Jeffrey E. Lancet, MD, chair of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center, discussed the issue of cost and optimizing patient outcomes acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Jessica Robinson-Papp, MD, MS, professor of neurology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, talks about what factors can contribute to medication nonadherence in people with HIV, and the different levels of support that might be available to patients.

Jeffrey E. Lancet, MD, chair of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center, gave insight on the evolving treatment landscape of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the potential of immunotherapy and targeted therapies going forward.

Mark A. Socinski, MD, executive director of AdventHealth Cancer Institute, gave insight into treatment resistance and the importance of repeat biomarker testing at the time of disease progression in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Sebastian Pistritto, chief marketing officer at ParcelShield Holdings, LLC, talks about how technology such as artificial intelligence helps to evaluate data to assist in medication delivery service decision-making, depending on the need of the pharmacy and its patients.