Latest Conference Articles

Brenton Fargnoli, MD, medical director of value-based care and director of product marketing and strategy at Flatiron Health, predicts the future of the learning health system in the United States.

Over the next years, these spheres (ACOs, primary care, and oncology) that are going on in CMMI need to be coalesced together so that when we have learning collaboratives, not only do we have learning collaboratives within each of these spheres, but we learn from each other in these similar projects, said Peter Aran, MD, medical director of Population Health Management at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma.

Justin Bachmann, MD, MPH, FACC, instructor of Medicine and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses how cardiologists incorporate value-based care into their procedures.

Aetna is focusing on the healthcare triangle (patients, providers, and payers) and connecting those lines, said Roger Brito, DO, national director for oncology, Aetna.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a recognized disorder affecting both children and adults, but what is known about ADHD when it affects older adults, especially those nearing retirement age or those who are already retired? Kathleen G. Nadeau, PhD, is surveying this special population for research for an upcoming book. Nadeau, a psychologist in Maryland, spoke about this issue at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders.

In order to adapt to the Oncology Care Model (OCM), Regional Cancer Care Associates had to undergo the process of adjusting and customizing its electronic medical records, explained CEO Terrill Jordan.

We should try to remove barriers that are not only in place, but getting higher for clinicians and patients to get evidence-based care, said A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan.

Digital utilization can generate data with supporting evidence for clinical pathways that benefits clinicians, explained Kathleen Lokay, president and CEO of Via Oncology.

Can improved research designs answer questions that come up between doctors and patients, like better understanding the risks and benefits of prescription medicine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Brian M. D'Onofrio, PhD, presented about translational epidemiology in a talk called The Risks and Benefits of ADHD: A Pharmacoepidemiologic Perspecitive to answer those questions at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD).

The ability to have a plan that’s going to work and be large enough that it makes sense for those involved is a barrier for employers who want to pursue alternative payment models, said David Merrill, HR benefits manager, Volusia County, Florida, and John Robinson, CEBS, REBC, RHU, president and CEO, RobinsonBush.

During the welcome and opening plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (APSARD), 3 speakers gave an overview of different models of cognitive and neural processes that underlie the symptoms, impairments, and medication treatment models of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Using a large database created by a center for actuarial studies, a psychologist and researcher is positing that people with the worst cases of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will see a 25-year reduction in life expectancy, according to a presentation made Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders.

The challenges that adolescents and young adults face before and after treatment are all unique to an individual patient, according to Julie Wolfson, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine.

A large proportion of caregivers with children and adolescents diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD) perceived that the burden of illness remained high even if the children are on current prescription drug therapy, according to a poster presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders in Washington, DC.

Reimbursement structures and population demographics change the way hospitals approach heart failure, explained Amar Bhakta, MD, of Rush University Medical Center.

It’s very unusual to see significant cost savings in the first year of a program; that was true of all the pioneer ACO programs, said Jeff Patton, MD, CEO of Tennessee Oncology.

Involving providers in the development process of new reimbursement models increases the chance that the initiative will be successful and works against caregiver burnout, said Peter Aran, MD, medical director of Population Health Management at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma.

Don’t underestimate the power that it takes to make sure a value-based program is working, said Sarah Cevallos, chief revenue cycle officer, Florida Cancer Specialists.

The healthcare triangle (patients, payers, and providers) begins with the patient, so we should include the patient in some of the decision-making, said Roger Brito, DO, national director for oncology, Aetna.

The fact that you have certain drugs that treat numerous cancers, and that they may treat 1 cancer different or better than another, would suggest that we should probably have differential pricing models, said A. Mark Fendrick, MD, director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan.

Insufficient risk adjustment is a dangerous consequence of incorrectly implemented value-based care models, explained Justin Bachmann, MD, MPH, FACC, instructor of Medicine and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Bo Gamble, director of Strategic Practice Initiatives at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), believes that broadening communication and education is COA’s main goal in 2018.

Southwest Airlines has set up a split fill program, pharmacy benefit manager, health advocacy program, and a cancer resource guide for employees, said Judy Berger, senior manager, benefits planning, Southwest Airlines.

Year 2 of the Oncology Care Model is about learning from the lessons of year 1 and extending implementation that has already been started, said Terrill Jordan, CEO of Regional Cancer Care Associates.

Using data collection means taking the guesswork out of treatment, said Torrie K. Fields, MPH, senior program manager of Palliative Care Program Design & Implementation for Blue Shield of California.

Quality measures are 1 tool that can help clinicians uncover health inequities and address social risk factors, explained Shantanu Agrawal, MD, MPhil, CEO and president of National Quality Forum.

Julie A. Wolfson, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, discusses what clinicians need to be conscious about regarding the outcomes disparities between adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and children with ALL.

The last 5 years have seen a host of new drugs approved for multiple myeloma, improving survival times for patients, explained Nina Shah, MD, associate professor, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.