Latest Conference Articles

On the first day of The Community Oncology Conference: Innovation in Cancer Care, held in Orlando, Florida, April 13-15, 2016, oncologists discussed how their practices are coping with the transition toward quality- and value-based reimbursement.

Many value assessment frameworks are still in their infancy and while the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)'s framework is still getting input and being adjusted, it has started an important conversation, Stephen Grubbs, MD, vice president for clinical affairs at ASCO, said at the Community Oncology Alliance's 2016 Community Oncology Conference.

While payer coverage for obesity care has improved since the American Medical Association declared that obesity is a disease, there's still a long way to go. Physician training must improve to eliminate stigma that keeps patients from getting care they need, according to experts who appeared at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care.

CMS' plan to pay for the National Diabetes Prevention Program is an important step toward payer coverage of technology-based diabetes care. But reimbursement for telehealth to treat type 2 diabetes remains challenging.

Diabetes care is incredibly complex and people are still trying to use data to predict issues with glycemic control, determine what the best combinations of drugs are, and to improve adherence with patients, explained Lonny Reisman, MD, CEO of HealthReveal and keynote speaker at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care.

It takes a village to manage people with diabetes, and that includes involving other professionals like diabetes educators, dieticians, and pharmacists more effectively, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, chief medical officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center, chair of Patient-Centered Diabetes Care, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management.

There may be some reluctance to reimburse telemedicine because there is a feeling that telemedicine costs might be added to overall cost, rather than be substituted, David Brumley, MD, MBA, senior medical director at Tufts Health Plan, explained at the 4th Annual Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Meeting, held April 7-8 in Teaneck, NJ.

Growth in retail health clinics reveals unmet medical needs for Americans who lack insurance, who cannot leave work, or who have disconnected with the health system. This growing sector of the health system is diagnosing and treating diabetes cases that would otherwise be missed.

Lonny Reisman, MD, CEO of HealthReveal, told attendees at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care that harnessing multiple disparate data sources can help physicians deliver better solutions at the point of care.

The nation's top food and drug regulator enjoyed a warm welcome from colleagues on the final day of the 65th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.

While overall data did not suggest a benefit for the drugs, a look at the effects on patients whose cardiac arrests were witnessed shows the benefit of reaching patients quickly.

The data were submitted to the FDA following idarucizumab’s accelerated approval last year, which is granted to therapies that address an unmet medical need.

Results from the GAUSS-3 trial presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology should be good news for Amgen, but an editorial in JAMA says the cost of evolocumab exceeds "willingness to pay" limits.

A small study of sudden out-of-hospital deaths raises questions about the quality of primary care, especially for women.

The 2013 guideline update from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association drew criticism when it was presented. Data presented in today's poster session at the ACC Scientific Session revealed unexpected results.

The half-day program covered healthy eating, how to prescribe exercise, evidence about stress reduction, and other lifestyle topics, as part of the American College of Cardiology's focus on prevention.

Greetings from First Lady Michelle Obama and a lecture from a non-cardiologist on population health set the stage for the 65th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology. Prevention is the focus of this year's meeting.

Results from the HOPE-3 trial, presented on the opening day of the 65th Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, suggest cholesterol-lowering statins could have preventive benefits in broader groups of patients than previously thought.

Four panelists and 2 moderators discussed the issues surrounding cancer and healthcare in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election during the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference.

John A. Thompson, MD, co-director of the Melanoma Clinic at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, highlighted the major points of his melanoma talk at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s 21st Annual Meeting, including the FDA approval of new drugs and the development of new viral therapies.

There are a number of lessons oncologists have learned as the population of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age grow older, said Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, chief of Division of Hematology Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

While these "generic" biologicals have been deemed to have the potential to create competition and result in healthcare savings-although not to the extent of generic products-technical issues with manufacturing these products have troubled drug manufacturers.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 21st Annual Conference, Alan P. Venook, MD, professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, provided insight into lessons learned by oncologists in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Now that 1 biosimilar has made it to market in the United States, Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, expects more to follow and that, hopefully, biosimilars will help achieve cost savings for healthcare.

Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), discussed calculating value in cancer care and the dimensions of NCCN's value assessment framework, Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)'s 21st Annual Conference, Robert Carlson, MD, chief executive officer, NCCN, provided a flavor for their value framework, the Evidence Blocks.

At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 21st Annual Conference, John A. Thompson, MD, presented an update on where the field of melanoma treatment stands today.

Palliative care should be introduced as early as possible, even as early as diagnosis, so patients hear about it early and not during a late stage of their disease when they might need hospice, Sophia K. Smith, PhD, MSW, associate professor at the Duke School of Nursing, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Annual Meeting.