Latest Conference Articles

About 40% of new specialty drugs in 2017 are expected to be for orphan drug indications, which is keeping with the trend; however, an upcoming investigation into potential abuses of the Orphan Drug Act could have an unknown impact on development and prices, said Aimee Tharaldson, PharmD, senior clinical consultant for emerging therapeutics at Express Scripts.

With the high cost of new drugs to cure hepatitis C, ensuring that real-world outcomes are consistent with those seen in clinical trials is important, explained Gail Bridges, PharmD, of Accredo Health. She explained that Accredo ensured patients adhered to hepatitis C drugs in order to get the best outcomes through a disease- and drug-specific education program.

Matthew Gubens, MD, MS, assistant clinical professor of thoracic oncology at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed the areas of lung immuno-oncology research where he anticipates significant advances will be made in coming years.

Findings from real-world studies will help clinicians and other health stakeholders better understand the use of Toujeo compared with Lantus, particularly regarding treatment dosage patterns, for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to Liz Zhou, MD, director of evidence-based medicine at Sanofi Medical Affairs.

According to Richard J. Willke, PhD, chief science officer of ISPOR, real-world data has some unique advantages over randomized clinical trial findings, especially for health plans looking to make coverage decisions.

Although it may be costly to negotiate and implement risk-based arrangements, these agreements are a valuable tool for testing outcomes in the real world among complex patients, explained Lou Garrison, PhD, professor emeritus in the Department of Pharmacy, University of Washington.

The REACH trial of an eCounseling program to reduce hypertension was effective because it encouraged patients to see themselves as an active member of the team, according to lead study author Rob Nolan, PhD, CPsych, director of Cardiac eHealth at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and clinical psychologist and scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute.

When developing interventions to improve population health, particularly among minority groups, research must take a culturally sensitive approach that is targeted to the specific needs of that population, according to Moon S. Chen Jr, PhD, MPH, professor of hematology and oncology at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator of The National Center for Reducing Asian American Cancer Health Disparities. He also emphasized the importance of clinicians’ role in population health.

As healthcare moves more toward a system of value-based care, ethical committees are becoming more important to ensuring an institution's ethical values are evident in the way it provides care to patients, explained Jacqueline Glover, PhD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado Denver.

It remains unclear why insurers approve some patients for PCSK9 inhibitors while denying others with similar clinical characteristics, according to Seth J. Baum, MD, FACC, FACPM, FAHA, FNLA, FASPC, president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, who presented an abstract on the subject at the American College of Cardiology 66th Scientific Session.

At Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, Illinois, researchers presented their work to develop a capsule scope that can harness the power of magnetics and robotics to autonomously explore the colon.

The future of healthcare should be taking care of patients in the context of their lives, whether that is addressing their hunger, transportation needs, or loneliness, explained Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA, president and CEO of CareMore.

A lack of diversity in study groups is a common problem in clinical trials, including those researching gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Speakers at Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, discussed the roots of this issue and what they have found to address it.

Hospitalized patients who are obese are more likely to be readmitted and have longer and costlier inpatient stays, but tend to have lower mortality rates, according to new research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, Illinois.

As the number of mobile health applications continues to skyrocket, a group of researchers set out to determine whether a smartphone app could prevent readmissions for patients released from the hospital after gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. The findings from the pilot study of their mHEALS app were presented at Digestive Disease Week 2017, which took place May 6-9 in Chicago.

At a session during Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, speakers highlighted some new approaches to managing obesity that are now approved by the FDA.

At Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, researchers presented their findings from a trial of a text messaging intervention to encourage weight loss and liver health in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

As CMS developed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) over the past few years, it was responsive to the needs and concerns of clinicians, according to William Borden, MD, FACC, FAHA, associate professor of medicine and director of healthcare delivery transformation at the George Washington University. Still, Borden says there are ways the requirements could be simplified, which would benefit both physicians and patients.

According to the findings of a new study, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty could present an effective alternative to more invasive surgical weight loss interventions. The research was presented at Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago.

At a session during Digestive Disease Week 2017, held in Chicago from May 6-9, speakers discussed the ongoing efforts to define, measure, and improve the quality of care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Experts gathered to discuss policy changes and their impact on digestive research and patient care during the “Gastroenterology in the Age of Trump” session presented by the American Gastroenterological Association at Digestive Disease Week 2017, held May 6-9 in Chicago, Illinois.

As they take on risk, health systems have to address factors that contribute to rising rates of obesity, diabetes, or dementia-and they are doing so in novel ways.

A day after House Republicans voted to pass legislation that repeals and replaces large parts of the Affordable Care Act, Avik Roy, Forbes opinion editor and president of the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, outlined what Republicans are trying to fix. After his presentation, he joined a panel discussion on what impact the American Health Care Act will have.

Darius Lakdawalla, PhD, explains that moving to value-based pricing system can be thorny when not everyone has the same definition of value.

At the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition®, people from around the country who are successfully creating new ways to deliver value-based care come together to share learnings and best practices for attendees to take back to the office on Monday, explained Clifford Goodman, PhD, moderator at the ACO Coalition spring live meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, and senior vice president and director at the Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research at the Lewin Group.

Healthcare organizations really need to be careful that the protected health information flow is safe and there are no vulnerable spots where that information can be accessed and cause a HIPAA violation, explained Lee Barrett, executive director of the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission.

Panelists on day 1 of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition® discussed the challenging work of creating public-private partnerships, and how these initiatives can address issues to improve the health of a population.

The rise of accountable care means health systems have more opportunities to share patient information, increasing the opportunities for hackers to penetrate their systems. The question isn't whether a health system will have a breach but when and how it will respond, experts said.