Interviews

"Even though awareness was increasing, it wasn't translating into action," Taylor-Desir explains. "We know from our experience as physicians, that physical health and mental health are tied."

"We really have to work on our implicit bias, acknowledging it, understanding it, and doing the work to try to change it," Veronica Gillispie-Bell, MD, MAS, says.

Despite not reaching statistical significance, findings from DICTATE-AHF show early dapagliflozin improved decongestion and led to earlier hospital discharge for patients with acute decompensated heart failure, explained Zachary Cox, PharmD, professor at Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy.

A recent CDC study revealed that reports of mistreatment and discrimination during maternity care were high among Black, Hispanic, and multiracial respondents.

Michael Petrosky, MD, of Allegheny Health Network, spoke about the difference between vaccines and monoclonal antibodies and how they can affect treatment in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, director of pharmacy at Emory Winship Cancer Institute, discusses treatment options available to patients with rare diseases, as well as the challenges these patients and their pharmacists face in accessing these treatments.

Carmen Solórzano, MD, FACS, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), discusss how VUMC uses technology to advance cancer treatments and her current research.

Specialty pharmacy is a big area of growth, with opportunity for patients, and specialty pharmacists can help payers and insurers ensure that patients get the full value of oncology medications, noted Andre Harvin, PharmD, MS, MBA, chief pharmacy officer, Oncology Services, Cone Health Cancer Centers.

Nathan Walcker, CEO at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), highlights some of the recent partnerships and initiatives at FCS to improve community-based oncology care from a value-based perspective.

Care quality is high in both the United States and Canada, but there are commonalities in regard to drug access and cost issues, particularly with advanced medications, noted G. B. John Mancini, MD, University of British Columbia.

Erin Gillaspie, MD, MPH, FACS, a faculty member of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Department of Thoracic Surgery, discussed improvements in lung cancer outcomes due to new screenings and therapies.

In hemophilia cases where there is uncertainty, especially when your factor level is near the 50% cutoff, genetic testing becomes important, Ragni says.

A patient-centered approach on top of a multifactorial approach will help patients adhere to lifestyle modifications, said Nikolaus Marx, MD, professor of medicine/cardiology and head of the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, Germany.

After 16 weeks on placebo, patients in the control group were invited to start mavacamten alongside the treatment group, explained Milind Desai, MD, MBA, director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center and vice chair of education at the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic.

Jordan Berlin, MD, FASCO, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, explained how patient preferences and new treatments are considered, as well as what he is currently working on and his biggest takeaway from The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Institute for Value-Based Medicine® held in Nashville, TN on August 17, 2023.

Curing cancer is something we all want to do, but logistical issues remain around translating that into practice, explained Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, medical oncologist with Advocate Health.

Biosimilars can improve access to treatment for patients who might not have been able to access biologics previously, explained Laura Wingate, executive vice president, Education, Support, & Advocacy, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.

Sachin Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO at SCAN Group and SCAN Health Plan, discussed the growing roles of middlemen between physicians and their patients in an increasingly complex system.

Jennifer Choe, MD, PhD, a head and neck medical oncologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discussed head and neck cancer relapse post-radiation therapy, new treatment trials, and any promising responses from them.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Foundation has launched an initiative to prioritize mental health care.

Kiana Mehring, MBA, director of strategic partnerships, managed care at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS), discusses her role working in managed care and some of the new strategic partnership initiatives at FCS.

"We won't be content until this is indeed performed in 98% of babies," Stephen Kingsmore, MD, DSc, explains.

At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.

Joseph Aracri, DO, from Allegheny Health Network discussed how parents can help treat their child should they get respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and how severe this season will be.

According to new CDC research, 20% of mothers reported mistreatment while receiving maternity care for their youngest child.

Carmen Solórzano, MD, FACS, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses how Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) conducts tumor boards and explains how patient preferences are considered during them.

Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP, chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, highlights several potential strategies to address the historic lack of diversity in multiple myeloma clinical trial populations.

There seems to be an institutional ignorance toward social determinants of health and actually making changes to improve outcomes for patients of color, said Shrilla Banerjee, MD, FRCP, consultant cardiologist, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.