Latest Conference Articles

Laurie Wesolowicz, PharmD, director, pharmacy services clinical, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), says that clinical evidence and other factors can drive formulary decision-making. Evidence can influence the value and coverage recommendations for drugs covered under the pharmacy (formulary) and medical benefits.

Farzad Mostashari, MD, visiting fellow, Brookings Institution, former national coordinator for health information technology (HIT), US Department of Health and Human Services, says we need to have payment reform to support the success of HIT.

Pat Gleason, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS, director of health outcomes, Prime Therapeutics, and Shelley Sanchez, senior director of specialty product development, Prime Therapeutics, presented on 1 approach to managing the specialty drug benefit, which includes optimizing the use of PhARMA manufacturer coupons and patient assistance programs (PAPs).

Presenters in this talk focused on how the creation of health insurance exchanges (HIEs) and other federal and state regulations will impact the provision and administration of pharmacy benefits.

With nearly half of specialty spending occurring on the medical benefit in 2012, and seeing that specialty spending is predicted to account for 50% of total pharmacy spending by 2019, Mike Waterbury, president, ICORE Healthcare, specialty division of Magellan Pharmacy Solutions, reports that specialty drug costs will surpass traditional spending in the next few years.

According to Howard K. Crowley, head of pharmacy strategic initiatives, Aetna Pharmacy Management, a Towers Watson/ National Business Group on Health survey found that 29% of employers rank the rising costs of specialty drugs as a top challenge to keeping health benefit coverage affordable.

James Gartner of CareSource and Jessica Frank of OutcomesMTM shared the first-year results of a cooperative comprehensive medication therapy management (MTM) program that they implemented for nearly 1 million Ohio Medicaid members.

In medication use and improving patient outcomes, Susan Cooper, MPH, RPh, senior director, pharmacy services, HealthPartners, says her organization envisions prescription drug optimization going beyond addressing adherence. It seeks to improve the patient experience.

In a presentation entitled The PBM Has No Clothes: A (Public Sector) Proposal Is More Transparent Than You Think, Steffanie Mathewson, Esq, principal, Mathewson Research, described how the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state sunshine laws make it easier for stakeholders to view and understand the strategic direction of major PBMs.

According to John Miller, executive director, MidAtlantic Business Group on Health, The National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) is an organization that seeks to drive conversations about prescription drug benefit management (PBM) to value.

To build on the success and ideas generated at last year's inaugural event, Joslin Diabetes Center once again brought together numerous key stakeholders in the collective battle to conquer diabetes and to provoke thought, innovation, and action. Highlights from Diabetes Innovation, which took place on October 3-5, 2013, in Washington, DC, are available in a special report published by The American Journal of Managed Care.

As the prevalence of obesity continues to increase and treatment strategies evolve, pharmacists are not only in a position to advise on appropriate use of pharmacotherapy for obesity, but also to assist in improving outcomes from gastric bypass surgery.

Speakers at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting ranging from ASHP President Gerald Meyer, PharmD, to Michael Lee, PharmD, of the Indian Health Service, argued that pharmacists are closer than ever before to achieving their goal of attaining provider status.

Genomic sequencing is rapidly increasing its value as a clinical tool in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, including cancer. In his presentation, Justin M. Balko, PharmD, PhD, from Vanderbilt University, provided a background on the current state of next-generation genomic sequencing (NGS), and the potential role that pharmacists play as this science continues to evolve.

New and experienced pharmacists are always on the lookout for ways to improve their careers. This presentation focuses on some key strategies for identifying new opportunities that allow new and experienced pharmacists to develop and apply their clinical skills.

Quality and performance measurement has become an integral part of the healthcare system. As pharmacists continue to increase their role and exposure as healthcare providers, they are well positioned to assist in identifying ways to improve the quality of care delivered and to play an integral role in the development of quality measures, according to Curtis Collins, PharmD, MS, BCPS (AQ-ID), FASHP, who spoke at the ASHP Midyear Meeting.

With the rise of targeted therapies, the days of letting doctors report informally on unexpected reactions to new cancer drugs are long gone. The change signals a larger role for phase IV, the post-marketing research step in the approval process.

One billion dollars. That can be the list price for bringing a new cancer-fighting agent from preclinical design through approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, according to Michael R. Grever, MD, of the Ohio State University.

llicit drug use continues to be a prevalent and growing problem in the United States, and the use of newer substances is on the rise. Because of the increasing prevalence and tweaking of compounds to avoid detection, the identification of drug abuse by practitioners often relies on signs and symptoms. In this session, presenters reviewed some of these agents, including their history and their impact on those abusing them.

Retired general and former secretary of state Colin Powell discussed his thoughts on the US healthcare system and the role pharmacists play within it during his keynote address at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.

In this session, a sustainable business model for pharmacists practicing in an accountable care organization environment was described by Kelly Boesen, PharmD, BCPS, and Sandra Leal, PharmD, MPH, CDE, FAPhA, of the El Rio Health Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Treating lymphoma today starts with an understanding of what is being treated, and the revolution in genetic profiling lets clinicians do that with more precision than ever.

Taking aim at relapse rates and overall poor outcomes among adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) demands both new therapies and new ways of thinking, according to Anjali S. Advani, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic. Antibodies, which have produced success in treating other blood cancers, offer promise because in some cases the same antigens are involved.

Treating newly diagnosed patients even older ones with a combination of lenalidomide, marketed by Celgene as Revlimid, and low-dose dexamethasone, a steroid, seems likely to become the new treatment standard for multiple melanoma, based on the presentation of a mass vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, ive, multinational Phase III study presented Sunday at the 55th American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exhibition in New Orleans.

In recent years, overall progress in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), in which malignant white cells multiply in the bone marrow, has been tempered by this fact: Survival rates among children far outstrip those of adults, with childhood rates reaching 85% and adults registering at 45%.

Progress in treating multiple myeloma, or cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow, has advanced significantly over the past decade. Today, questions about the disease often involve finding a treatment that balances the goal of putting a patient into remission especially if stem cell transplantation is a possibility against the toxicity of the treatment itself.

With grants from government sources looking less certain, partnerships between academic research center and pharmaceutical companies are more important than ever to keep breakthrough hematology therapies in the pipeline, said Burt Adelman, MD, a hematologist who serves as executive vice president and chief medical officer for Dyax Inc.

New therapies to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) will receive plenty of attention this week at the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans. At an education session that opened the meeting Saturday, a physician with the Mayo Clinic made it clear that cost considerations are a reality for many older patients.