Interviews

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, is co-author of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management.” She spoke to The American Journal of Managed Care® about the findings of the report and how they can be incorporated into care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Hatim Husain, MD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego, discuses must-haves for successful biomarker testing in lung cancer—in particular, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)—and how the field is adapting to the targeted treatment needs of its patients.

The next step for health care professionals is to teach patients how to act on the data collected by intermittently scanned glucose sensing technologies, according to Viral Shah, MD, an endocrinologist and scientist.

Jason Ezra Hawkes, MD, MS, FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of California Davis in Sacramento, explained the utility of type 2 inflammation pathways and the microbiome in understanding the immune dysregulation associated with atopic dermatitis (AD).

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, discusses the mechanism of action for roflumilast cream, the only phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor approved by the FDA for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in patients aged 12 and older.

Sarah Wells Kocsis, MBA, is co-author of the Milken Institute report, “Chronic Kidney Disease: Finding a Path to Prevention, Earlier Detection, and Management.” She spoke to The American Journal of Managed Care® about the findings of the report and how they can be incorporated into care for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

In this interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®, Sigrun Hallmeyer, MD, medical director of Advocate Lutheran General Hospital’s Cancer Service Line and co-director of medical research at Advocate Aurora Health, in Illinois, touches on several important topics within the melanoma space.

Adequate training will help physicians and researchers better address the needs of the communities they’re targeting, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.

While the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) was involved in humanitarian work in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the crisis in Ukraine caused COA to set up a special committee to jump into action, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, COA.

Results from DESTINY-Lung01 have shown promising progression-free survival and overall survival with ongoing research that may lead to a future FDA approval in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), said Ticiana Leal, MD, associate professor, director of the Thoracic Medical Oncology Program, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine.

Insurance reimbursement for teleophthalmology services is not consistent among populations and only recently received a boost due to flexibilities allowed during the pandemic, said Parisa Emami-Naeini, MD, MPH, assistant professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Davis, and vitreoretinal surgeon and uveitis specialist at UC Davis Eye Center.

Anchalee Avihingsanon, MD, PhD, HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, is principal investigator of the ALLIANCE trial.

Despite the Hospital Transparency Rule being in effect, the majority of 340B hospitals are not reporting their prices for top services and drugs, and those that have, reported on “egregious” markups, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, Community Oncology Alliance.

Brindley Brooks, who founded HS Connect (HSconnect.org), a patient advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), discussed step edits and other barriers to treatment caused by insurance requirements in the management of HS.

Patrick Burnett, MD, PhD, FAAD, chief medical officer of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, discusses the need for increased research and awareness on intertriginous disease in psoriasis.

For vision-threatening diseases, such as diabetic macular edema (DME) understanding the economic value of treatments can help identify the direct and indirect benefits of different treatments, said Paul Hahn, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon at NJRetina.

To ensure patients will use digital health solutions, they need to be at the table when these tools are being designed, said Amila Patel, PharmD, chief clinical officer, Navigating Cancer.

The ruling by the Supreme Court on 340B reimbursements was narrow, but it sets up a future reimbursement reduction by HHS that is even greater based on survey data, said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, Community Oncology Alliance.

Gary Owens, MD, president of Gary Owens Associates, addresses how payers can improve outcomes for persons who have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

There are some similarities among various value-based payment programs for cancer care, but they are not identical, said Susan Escudier, MD, FACP, vice president, value-based care and quality programs, Texas Oncology.

An oncology expert explains how clinical and non-clinical evidence impact the clinical pathway decision-making for patients with NSCLC.

Edward Arrowsmith, MD, describes the value of using clinical pathways in NSCLC therapy and how they are used at his institution, including their multiple sites of care.

Anchalee Avihingsanon, MD, PhD, HIV-NAT, Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand, is principal investigator of the ALLIANCE trial from Gilead.

Brindley Brooks, who founded HS Connect (HSconnect.org), a patient advocacy group for those affected with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), spoke on the need for awareness among physicians and patients on the clinical features of HS in regard to both physical and psychosocial burdens.

The involvement of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in 340B is the “colliding of 2 worlds,” said Ted Okon, MBA, executive director, Community Oncology Alliance.

Telemedicine visits can make physicians more efficient, but the ability to report symptoms can add to the workload burden as staff try to figure out which symptoms need to be addressed, said Susan Escudier, MD, FACP, vice president of value-based care and quality programs, Texas Oncology.

While therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D) are becoming more advanced, the problem is patients can't access them, said Viral Shah, MD, an endocrinologist and scientist.

Getting a more diverse patient population in clinical trials may be as simple as including paperwork in more languages, but good training among investigators and study coordinators can help identify unconscious biases that may also have an impact, explained Vivienne Hau, MD, clinical assistant professor with the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine.