Latest Conference Articles

Readmissions are one of the many Achilles' heels of healthcare. Whether it is a failure in communication, problems with medication adherence, or an overall lack of quality healthcare delivery, readmissions cause many headaches within the system. Saturday at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific Session and Expo featured a discussion on successful transitions of care to help prevent readmissions.

Paul Hauptman, MD, Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Health Management & Policy, School of Public Health, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, says that clinicians tend to focus on non-patient focused outcomes.

The Affordable Care Act has left many healthcare professionals pondering the future of healthcare delivery. This all-encompassing discussion has many layers; however, at the American College of Cardiology 62nd Annual Scientific Session and Expo, a panel of experts discussed some of the specific variables-such as the need for better data and a more prominent role for nurses-as they relate to healthcare delivery in this transitory time.

"There is often a disconnect between research and policy," said Harlan Krumholz, MD, Department of Internal Medicine/Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

To act as a catalyst for ideas, partnerships, and collaboration among all stakeholders to provoke thought, innovation, and action to address the cost, productivity, and quality-of-life impact of diabetes, obesity, and related conditions and comorbidities on our society, Joslin Diabetes Center convened Diabetes Innovation for the first time in 2012. Highlights from Diabetes Innovation, which took place on September 23-25 2012, in Arlington, Virginia, are available in a special report published by The American Journal of Managed Care.

At the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, John Radford, MD, reported the results of the United Kingdom RAPID trial, in which PET-directed therapy provided an opportunity to avoid involved field radiotherapy, the current standard of care following abbreviated chemotherapy in early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ralph M. Meyer, MD, Director of Clinical Trials Group, National Cancer Institute of Canada, Queen's University, offers a counterpoint to the thoughts of Richard T. Hoppe, MD, on the role and utility of radiation therapy in patients with early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Vorinostat added to standard chemotherapy before, during, and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation reduced the cumulative incidence of graft-versus-host disease in a phase I/II trial reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Adrian Wiestner, MD, PhD, Investigator, Laboratory of Lymphoid Malignancies, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, discusses the patient outcomes that clinical trials have demonstrated regarding the use of targeted kinase inhibitors for the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Elisabeth M. Paietta, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine (Oncology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine, defines minimum residual disease (MRD) and discusses its clinical significance. She then describes the methodological and therapeutic challenges that face clinical MRD implementation.

An investigational, weekly, oral proteosome inhibitor called MLN9708 achieved excellent response rates when combined with lenalidomide and dexamethasone as up-front treatment of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, according to results of a phase II trial presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Thomas P. Loughran, Jr, MD, Professor of Medicine, Penn State University, Director, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, describes the clinical sequelae of large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia, particularly noting neutropenia and anemia, and discusses the pharmacotherapeutic approach.

Ibrutinib, an investigational Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, achieved excellent results in clinical trials of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Richard T. Hoppe, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology - Radiation Therapy, Stanford School of Medicine, discussed the current role and utility of radiation therapy in patients with early stage Hodgkins Lymphoma when compared to conventional chemotherapy.

Extended anticoagulation with fixed doses of the oral Factor Xa inhibitor apixaban significantly reduced the incidence of symptomatic recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) or death without increasing the risk of major bleeding in patients with VTE who had already completed up to 12 months of anticoagulation.

Claire E. Dearden, MD, Consultant Hematologist, Head of CLL Clinic, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK, highlights the pharmacotherapeutic strategies for the management of B- and T-cell PLL, noting the clinical outcomes associated with the diseases, and briefly touches on the future of PLL therapy.

"Health insurance exchanges are the first step in the consumerization of the healthcare marketplace," said David Brailer, MD, PhD, chairman, Health Evolution Partners.

An expanding retail marketplace means that there are more opportunities for health plans to develop innovative strategies to reach consumers that are entering the market space for the first time. It is essential for health plans to not only engage these consumers but also to assist them in making good healthcare decisions.

Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, associate professor of Health Policy and Management, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, says that there are many challenges facing the quality of data used to transform healthcare delivery systems.

Gail Wilensky, PhD, senior fellow, Project Hope, says that larger payers are introducing plans that reward consumers for choosing high-quality healthcare clinicians with lower co-payments and premiums.

Incomprehensible amounts of data are collected by all sectors of the healthcare industry on a daily basis. It is important for organizations to not only understand how to handle and collect this data, but also to translate it into actionable information that can help transform healthcare delivery. Unfortunately, many pitfalls still exist, and there is a need for better processes to collect clinically relevant and more complete data.

Avik Roy, senior fellow, Manhattan Institute, says that health insurance exchanges will, over time, become the main method of delivering health insurance in the United States.

Tuesday morning at AHIP's Fall Forum 2012 included a session on the methods in which evolving technologies and disruptive innovations will undoubtedly lead to better and more cost-efficient patient care.

The America's Health Insurance Plans Fall Forum 2012 is taking place in Chicago's Renaissance Hotel from December 3-5. Here are some of the topics and trends that will be discussed.

Cindy Bjorkquist, Director of Wellness, Care Management and Health Promotion Programs Development, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, discusses Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Total Health Improvement Strategy.

Day 1 of the America's Health Insurance Plans Fall Forum 2012 featured a pre-conference workshop on patient engagement strategies to promote wellness in a consumer-driven marketplace. Presenter and moderator Jen Cressman, Vice President, Strategic Accounts, Krames StayWell, centered her discussion on the design of effective communication strategies and how to attract and engage consumers while also fostering loyalty.

Check out photos from America's Health Insurance Plans Fall Forum 2012. The meeting is being held at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago, IL, from December 3-5.

Healthcare is in the midst of a shift toward more patient-centric and accountable care; as a result, time- and resource-constrained providers are embracing new and innovative models for delivering and organizing care.