Latest Conference Articles

The panel at the American Thoracic Society 2013 International Conference continued discussions that suggested high rates of hospital readmissions may be an indicator of poor initial treatment, or failure to coordinate care. Further, these rates, which varied dramatically from hospital to hospital, were often excessively expensive.

Scott Halpern, MD, PhD, discussed the Choosing Wisely campaign with his opening presentation on The History of and Rationale for the Choosing Wisely Campaign. As most healthcare providers know, healthcare spending per capita in the United States is significantly higher than most other countries.

David Au, MD, Professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, says that hospital systems represent only one aspect of care delivery for patients who have been hospitalized.

In this video, Gulshan Sharma, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, addresses the hospitalist movement, which has resulted in shorter hospital stays and lower costs of care.

David H. Au, MD, MS, kicked off the Hospital Readmissions session at the American Thoracic Society 2013 conference with his presentation on Defining the Role of the Practitioner, Scientist and Policymaker. In the presentation, Dr Au says that it is important for all stakeholders in the healthcare industry to focus on hospital readmission rates.

Dr Keertan Dheda's presentation at the American Thoratic Society 2013 International Conference, XDR TB: What Else Can We Do? focused on the growing epidemic of drug resistant tuberculosis (DR TB). Dr Dheda said there are about 25000 XDR TB global cases annually, and that DR TB can be very expensive to treat and manage.

"I think probably most importantly, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seeks to expand insurance coverage for a large population of people," said Colin Cooke, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

David Weidig, MD, System Director of Hospital Medicine, Aurora Medical Group, Milwaukee, WI, says that readmissions are not necessarily a failure of medical treatment, but a failure of psycologic and social support systems for the patient that are not addressed while the patient is hospitalized.

The session opened up with a discussion of the emerging field of renal denervation therapies as presented by Juan F. Granada, MD, a cardiologist at the Skirball Center for Cardiovascular Research in New York.

One of the most important aspects of a successful catheterization involves decision of access entry point. Several presentations covered case studies with different entry points.

One of the most talked about subjects at the SCAI 2013 meeting was the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). There are great economic and potential implications associated with the designations of appropriate or inappropriate for specific diagnostic procedures and treatments.

Manesh Patel, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Duke University began by presenting a talk entitled, Appropriate Use Criteria: The Reasons, Methods, Intended, and Unintended Consequences. He first pointed out that Medicare expenditures on imaging have doubled between 2000 and 2006.

This session was perfect for the SCAI conference. Two opposing investigators were pitted against each other to debate 2 distinctly different treatment modalities. At the end of the debate, the physicians in the audience voted in live time in favor of 1 of the 2 treatments.

Dramatic changes in medical payment and economics began with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. Cardiologists weighed in on how this law is expected to impact upon their treatment decisions and business economics.

Sudden cardiovascular events are often preceded by embolus. The latest technologies for detection of emboli were showcased in a presentation by Emannouil S. Brilakis, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center. Dr Brilakis presented Intra-coronary Infrared Spectroscopy to Predict Embolization Risk During PCI.

In the multi-part presentation entitled The Quality Mandate: Understanding New Regulatory Policies and Quality Superheroes, Robert Yeh, MD, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), started the first session by reporting on the changing epidemiology of today's cardiovascular disease patient.

Lyndon Box, MD, is a cardiologist and contributor to the SCAI tool kit working at the University of Florida, Jacksonville. He opened up the session on quality and safety tools by discussing his most recent experience after accepting a position as the director of a new catheterization lab.

In the presentation Emerging Treatment Strategies for Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) Management: Improving Patient Outcomes, Frederick Korley, MD, an emergency medicine practitioner from John Hopkins, reviewed the role of available antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents for the treatment of ACS.

Russell Cohen, MD, says medication adherence is an important issue for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), because patients must stay on medications long term. Dr Cohen comments, "IBD is a chronic relapsing condition, you don't just stop your medicines."

The realities of the emerging healthcare marketplace are quickly being recognized. Layna Cook, with law firm, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, discussed these realities with her presentation, The Impact of Health Reform's State Exchanges.

In this video, Vandana Abramson, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, discusses the various strategies utilized in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

In the presentation Overcoming Challenges in the Management of Obesity: A Closer Look at Emerging Therapeutic Options, Trissa Reid, MD, an endocrinologist from the Columbia University Medical Center, reviewed the current concepts and practices around medical weight management.

With healthcare change comes challenge, but change also creates opportunity. This year's keynote general session for the NAMCP Spring Managed Care Forum was presented by Jacques Sokolov, MD, chairman and CEO, SSB Solutions, Inc, in Orlando, Florida.

Jacques Sokolov, MD, chairman and CEO, SSB Solutions Inc, says CIOs and ACOs are the foundation for many value-based products.

Martin Edelman, MD, Greenbaum Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, says that organizations like NCCN and ASCO have guidelines for the management of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Yelena Yankovskaya, PharmD, a managed markets fellow at the Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy, describes the expectations and roles of predictive modeling, value-based insurance design, and gamification/social media in contemporary managed care pharmacy.

In an educational symposium entitled, "The Evolution of Multiple Sclerosis Treatment: The Role of the Managed Care Pharmacist," Kristen Helms, PharmD, and her 2 colleagues discuss how treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) have evolved over the past 2 decades, explore the novel and emerging therapeutic strategies for MS, and cover strategies to improve medication adherence for the chronic disease.

Daniel Tomaszewski, PharmD, PhD Candidate, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, College of Pharmacy, Duluth, discusses the impact of managed care pharmacy on current legislation, regulatory policies, and ongoing healthcare reform.

Eric A. Wright, PharmD, BCPS, an investigator at the Geisinger Center for Health Research, discusses the implications of medical moments of truth (MMOTs) on current therapeutic and managed care strategies.

In an educational session satellite symposium entitled "Biologic Therapies for Chronic Diseases: Factors Influencing Treatment Decisions," Robert P. Navarro, PharmD, along with his colleagues, delves into the current trends of specialty pharmacy and biological therapies, and how managed care discussions have evolved to optimize patient outcomes within a cost-constrained healthcare environment.