Interviews

Gregory Vidal, MD, PhD, director of Clinical Research at West Cancer Center & Research Institute, spoke about community-level discussions within diversity, equity, and inclusion to be addressed at the 8th Annual West Oncology Conference.

Tochi M. Okwuosa, DO, cardiologist and director of cardio-oncology at Rush University Medical, discusses the multidisciplinary process that underlies caring for patients with cancer who may develop heart damage.

Sharon Gill, MBA, chief visionary officer, Total Health, reviewed the agenda and key topics to be presented at the West Oncology Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, which takes place February 4-5, 2023.

Paul G. Alexander, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief health equity and transformation officer, RWJBarnabas Health, discusses how community partnerships helped ameliorate disparities in health care access and accessibility, as well as food and travel insecurities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edward Partridge, MD, chief medical officer of Guideway Care, spoke on his organization’s 25-year history in addressing cancer disparities and the crucial role that care navigators/guides have in achieving value-based care within oncology.

With the public health emergency soon coming to an end, people covered by Medicaid will encounter new barriers, discusses Dennis Scanlon, PhD, professor of health policy and administration, Penn State University.

Terrance Mayes, EdD, and Loretta Erhunmwunsee, MD, FACS, discuss their new roles as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) new Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Directors Forum.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Reverend Paul Abernathy, CEO of the Neighborhood Resilience Project and board member of UPMC for You, who discusses his experiences in promoting health and resiliency in trauma-affected communities, as well as challenges related to access and accessibility of care and medical mistrust.

To mark the publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®’s 12th annual health IT issue, on this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with Christopher M. Whaley, PhD, health care economist at the RAND Corporation, who focuses on health economics issues, including the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care delivery.

Paul G. Alexander, MD, MPH, executive vice president and chief health equity and transformation officer, RWJBarnabas Health, spoke on population health management strategies employed by his organization to identify and address health disparities in the communities they serve.

Pharmaceutical companies would have to spend a lot of money on pediatric anticoagulation studies for diseases that are rare among these patients, explained Michael A. Portman, MD, FAHA, of Seattle Children's Hospital.

Kirsten Johansen, MD, director of nephrology, Hennepin Healthcare, speaks on the impact that an oral medication would have on the management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) for patients both on and not on dialysis.

Patient quality of life can be improved through shared knowledge between doctors and patients in cancer care using the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG) Chemotherapy Toxicity Tool calculator, which Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers piloted, explained Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Patients with higher health literacy and access to resources to self-advocate are more likely to benefit from health care consolidation, discussed Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas.

New immunotherapies are changing the shape of oncology care, but there is also a need for a system that provides these high-quality therapies to the patients most likely to benefit from them. This might mean doing an assessment and a deeper dive into patient functional status, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, at Vanderbilt University, discusses how the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) can help inform doctors and patients on choosing the optimal treatment for quitting smoking.

During an interview at the 2022 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Michael A. Portman, MD, FAHA, Seattle Children's Hospital addressed how cardiac disease presents in pediatric vs adult patients.

A tool to measure chemotherapy toxicity from the Cancer and Aging Research Group can help determine emergency department visits or hospitalization risk, especially for elderly patients, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

The assistant professor of neurology at the University of Virginia spoke at the 2022 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting about clinical outcomes of patients with dementia who experience seizures.

Adetunji T. Toriola, MD, PhD, professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, explains how breast cancer prevention campaigns for premenopausal women have changed and how RANK ligand inhibition could influence screening accuracy.

Michael Paull, MD, medical director of primary/urgent care and continuous improvement at the Vancouver Clinic (TVC), explained how TVC was able to improve its hypertension metrics to align with CMS' targets.

Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine, Vanderbilt University, discusses the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR) is and how it's used to help identify vulnerable individuals for lung cancer and heart disease.

Moving screening and prevention care more upstream can help make an impact by getting patients diagnosed with cancer earlier, said Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, executive director of clinical strategy for Oncology Consultants of Houston, Texas.

Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care, speaks on the future of more biosimilars hitting the market, and how they will influence value-based care.

The FDA’s approval of lecanemab for Alzheimer disease is very important, but there will remain significant challenges around pricing and access that will need to be addressed to deliver on the promise the therapy actually represents, said Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School.

We want to make it easy for our patients to manage and navigate the financial toxicity they encounter from their cancer care, noted Mike Koroscik, MBA, MHA, vice president of oncology, Allina Health and the Allina Health Cancer Institute.

There are still barriers to mental health care, in both the medical and outside worlds, noted Debra Delaney, MSN, FNP-BC, primary care nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Michael Thompson, president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance), addressed the current state of health equity strategies in the workplace and how employers can better address inequities in their benefit designs, programs, and policies in the near future.