Latest Conference Articles

Two scientists taking part in a session on addiction and pulmonary health outlined existing evidence about marijuana's effects on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and cancer. But one speaker warned there are too few longitudinal studies in this area.

Using technology and collected data can greatly improve care coordination, but some low-tech options, like better team communication and involving the patient are also important, explained Barbara Tofani, RN, MSN, NEA-BC, administrative director of the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center.

There is a monumental amount of data being collected in healthcare, but now it’s time to make sure that data is empowered so it can start being used to answer questions and improve decision making, said Sally Okun, RN, MMHS, vice president, Policy and Ethics, PatientsLikeMe.

At the first plenary session at the ISPOR 2018 conference, May 19-23 in Baltimore, Maryland, panelists updated the audience on how digital progress can influence real-world evidence to allow near real-time data analysis and inclusion of specific patient information, lowering cost and providing higher quality care downstream.

In a Monday panel convened at the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 23rd Annual International Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, stakeholders grappled with the role that value assessments play—or should play—in US private payer coverage and formulary decisions.

The 21st Century Cures Act, in many ways, helps drugs in other disease areas going through review with FDA get to the same standard of the oncology area, said Mark Fleury, PhD, MS, principal of Policy Development and Emerging Science at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

Results presented at the American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference confirm a hypothesis about the connections among pollution, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

Innovations are transforming healthcare, but these innovations have to align with business models and they still have to be validated before they can improve care delivery, explained Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM, Harold H. Hines Jr professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, and director, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital.

A session at the American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference examined the factors that contribute to disparities and potential partnerships between doctors and lawyers on behalf of patients.

Officials with GlaxoSmithKline said COLUMBA is the first long-term study for an anti-IL5 biologic to treat severe asthma that has been reported.

Attendees at the American Thoracic Society 2018 International Conference, meeting in San Diego, California, heard details that led to FDA's recent expansion of the indication for GlaxoSmithKline's Trelegy Ellipta, including findings that the once-daily combination also provides significant mortality benefits over a dual therapy that is often the combination patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are taking when triple therapy is recommended.

Calvin Knowlton, BScPharm, MDiv, PhD, chief executive officer and founder of Tabula Rasa HealthCare, discusses innovative practices that have been introduced in Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (eMTM) and what he sees in the future for eMTM improvement and innovation.

Beyond helping with co-payment assistance for patients with cancer, CancerCare helps with practical and emotional supports for patients, explained Michele McCourt, senior director of the CancerCare Co-Payment Assistance Foundation.

Tina Joseph, PharmD, BCACP, assistant professor, college of pharmacy, Nova Southeastern University, discusses the role of pharmacists in helping manage chronic diseases and the transition for integrating pharmacists into value-based care models.

Lee Newcomer, MD, MHA, private consultant, discusses the differences between UnitedHealthcare's pilot episodic payment model and CMS models.

Gathering data to use it to improve care delivery is easier said than done, explained Charles Saunders, MD, CEO of Integra Connect.

Curtis Lowery, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and director of the Center for Distance Health, discusses how technology can lower healthcare costs for OB/GYN patients.

While technology continues to improve, healthcare has not always been quick to keep up with changes. Panelists at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Accountable Care Delivery Congress highlight the ways their organizations are using technology to improve care.

So far, the move to accountable care has been promising, but more needs to be done to encourage providers into risk, said panelists at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Accountable Care Delivery Congress.

Brian Litten, JD, chief strategic officer, Tabula Rasa HealthCare, discusses how Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services work to improve health outcomes, challenges with the adoption of MTM services, and how CMMI's Enhanced MTM Model addresses these challenges.

Former Ambassador Nancy Brinker discusses the future of the Susan G. Komen Foundation stating, "It's time for major innovation."

Mary Norine Walsh, MD, immediate past president of the American College of Cardiology, discusses the cause of the recent increase in maternal mortality, and the importance of team-based care to address it.

Integrated care teams will create more value for the patient, but there are multiple challenges in the creation of these teams, said Mark Soberman, MD, MBA, FACS, former president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers.

Haywood Brown, MD, immediate past president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG), discusses the importance of postpartum follow up, and the reasoning behind ACOG's recently revised committee opinion.

Employers may be intimidated by the idea of purchasing healthcare, but they are getting more involved in it and they are in a position to transform the market and promote value-based care, said Suzanne Delbanco, PhD, MPH, executive director of Catalyst for Payment Reform, during her keynote at The American Journal of Managed Care®’s Accountable Care Delivery Congress.

Pulling data out of an electronic health record (EHR) to be analyzed can be difficult because that’s not what these systems were typically created to do, said Pamela Tobias, MS, RHIA, CHDA, administrator of oncology services at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Creating integrated cancer care teams is part of a paradigm shift that requires thinking of care delivery in a different way, explained Thomas Asfeldt, MBA, RN, director of Outpatient Cancer Services at Sanford Cancer Center.

Financial toxicity has been on the rise, but there has been movement toward reducing the burden through better communication and shared decision making, said Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, of the Duke Cancer Institute and a member of the Association of Community Cancer Centers Financial Advocacy Network Advisory Committee.