Latest Conference Articles

Early intervention is important in many illnesses, including psychosis, so treatment can begin as early as possible for best outcomes, explained Jacob Ballon, MD, MPH, clinical associate professor, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford University. He also discussed a resource for learning more about early intervention.

Data presented at the 175th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) support the potential of the investigational drug ALKS 3831 to provide the antipsychotic efficacy of olanzapine without the associated weight gain, said Adam Simmons, director of clinical program management, Alkermes. He also discussed the timing of when the data might be filed with the FDA.

Nicholas Robert, MD, medical director of Data, Evidence & Insights, McKesson Life Sciences, discusses the lag time between a drug's approval and its availability in the electronic medical record (EMR) for the physician to order.

Adam Simmons, director of clinical program management, Alkermes, explains that an investigational antipsychotic drug, ALKS 3831, provides the efficacy of olanzapine without the associated weight gain can provide benefits in the short and long term to payers and patients. Simmons spoke about data presented at the 175th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco, California.

Increasing awareness of psychosis can help communities engage with patients on a human level and work together to improve, according to David Kingdon, MD, professor of mental health care delivery, University of Southampton.

Joann Sciandra, RN, BSN, CCM, associate vice president of healthcare management, Geisinger Health System, discusses how the role of case management has evolved with increased attention being paid to social determinants of health and if she thinks the role will continue to evolve in the future.

Eleanor M. Perfetto, PhD, MS, senior vice president of Strategic Initiatives for the National Health Council, discusses potential strategies for increasing transparency in value assessment and where education fits into the mix.

Isaac Galatzer-Levy, PhD, assistant professor in psychiatry and bioinformatics, NYU School of Medicine, and vice president of clinical and computational neuroscience, AiCure, said that technological solutions like artificial intelligence can help identify and monitor signs of mental illness so patients can be connected with the help they need.

Jason Mitchell, MD, chief medical and clinical transformation officer, Presbyterian Healthcare Services, discusses the role of commercial payers in the shift toward value-based care.

Classifying mental disorders using traditional tools like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual misses the vast differences in biomarkers that can exist in patients with the same diagnosis, which is why research is looking to biological measures and “biotypes” to provide more information, according to Godfrey Pearlson, MD, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine.

With real-world data, there's an opportunity to take a new agent and see how patients outside that clinical trial would do, explained Nicholas Robert, MD, medical director of Data, Evidence & Insights, McKesson Life Sciences.

David Kingdon, MD, professor of mental health care delivery, University of Southampton, explained that mental health professionals have been receptive to the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in psychosis, but there needs to be greater expansion to increase availability.

If you set social benefits equal to social costs, you will be able to maximize the well-being of a population, and that's what value assessment allows for, explained Devin Incerti, PhD, lead economist, Innovation and Value Initiative.

Intervening early when someone is at risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can drastically improve their outcomes, but current predictive methods are lacking, according to Isaac Galatzer-Levy, PhD, assistant professor in psychiatry and bioinformatics, NYU School of Medicine, and vice president of clinical and computational neuroscience, AiCure.

Olanzapine is an effective antipsychotic medication, but the associated weight gain is the number one cause of discontinuation, explained Adam Simmons, director of clinical program management, Alkermes, during an interview at the 175th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco, California. An investigational drug, ALKS 3831, aims to mitigate the weight gain associated with olanzapine.

You need both technology and successful case management to succeed in value-based care, explained Joann Sciandra, RN, BSN, CCM, associate vice president of healthcare management, Geisinger Health System.

Congressional efforts to end surprise medical billing have a real possibility of succeeding, but recent discussions around transparency have a lot more challenges, said Lauren Vela, senior director of the Pacific Business Group on Health (PBGH).

Data is critical to all value-based care, said Jason Mitchell, MD, chief medical and clinical transformation officer, Presbyterian Healthcare Services.

Rob Mechanic, MBA, senior fellow at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and executive director of the Institute for Accountable Care, discusses how well accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other healthcare organizations are able to identify patients who could benefit from more holistic approaches to care.

Attempts to curb surprise medical may still result in patients getting costs elsewhere, said Bret Jackson, president of the Economic Alliance for Michigan.

David Kingdon, MD, professor of mental health care delivery, University of Southampton, outlined some future avenues for research on the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in psychosis, including the benefits of “worry periods” and studies on sleep.

Isaac Galatzer-Levy, PhD, assistant professor in psychiatry and bioinformatics, NYU School of Medicine, and vice president of clinical and computational neuroscience, AiCure, says that the solution to expanding access to mental health assessment and treatment in the aftermath of traumatic events is likely technological.

You have to think beyond a patient's disease process and think about how they engage with the healthcare system, explained Jason Mitchell, MD, chief medical and clinical transformation officer, Presbyterian Healthcare Services.

Adam Simmons, director of clinical program management, Alkermes, explained why researchers are seeking new treatments for schizophrenia, such as the investigational treatment ALKS 3831, despite the efficacy of a commonly used antipsychotic, olanzapine. Simmons was interviewed at the 175th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in San Francisco, California.

Bringing together different stakeholders in healthcare to share the challenges they see and their own understanding of how to fix the problem can help make impossible things happen and bring change to the healthcare system, said Elizabeth Mitchell, president and chief executive officer, Pacific Business Group on Health.

Treating illnesses is important, but it would be a mistake to think that is the full extent of health. Panelists during the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ 2019 Leadership Summits, held June 24-26 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, discussed the impact of social determinants and past trauma on health and how employers can ensure they are addressing these issues to improve health and outcomes.

David Kingdon, MD, professor of mental health care delivery, University of Southampton, discussed the settings and circumstances that make it more likely that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) will have a positive impact on patients with psychosis.

Jonathan Avery, MD, director of addiction psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, discussed how some psychiatrists will back away when treating a patient with co-occurring substance use and mental illness, when instead they should be leaning in to deliver evidence-based treatment.