Oncology

Many oncology practices are still trying to understand the new Oncology Care Model (OCM) structure and focus on data reporting as they simultaneously prepare to adapt to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), said Barry Russo, CEO of The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders.

Patients newly diagnosed with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that expresses the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) protein now have a new treatment option: pembrolizumab (Keytruda).

What are some of the challenges that clinical practices will face as they implement the Medicare Oncology Care Model (OCM)? What are some of the strategies that have worked for practices using similar payment models? These were some of the questions discussed at the Payer Exchange Summit V.

At the Payer Exchange Summit V, sponsored by the Community Oncology Alliance, held October 24-25, 2016, in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, Bruce Gould, MD, presented an overview of how cancer care has improved over the years, what the challenges are, and how practices can adapt to payment reform.

Employers face tough decisions about rising costs, high-quality care, coordination of benefits, and workplace accommodations when employees are diagnosed with cancer, but they will always want to support those employees as best they can, according to Marianne Fazen, PhD, president and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health.

Adopting the Oncology Care Model (OCM) is a challenging task for oncology practices that have to redesign their practices, but the shift from volume-based to value-based care is the way of the future, said Kashyap Patel, MD, of the Carolina Blood & Cancer Center.

Including a real-time decision support tool in the prior authorization process significantly reduced the cost of therapy for UnitedHealthcare, while complying with nationally accepted guidelines established by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

Analysis by researchers from the American Cancer Society has found that US southern states rank at the top when it comes to death from cigarette smoking.

The top stories in managed care included Vice President Joe Biden's released his report on the Cancer Moonshot initiative, complaints were filed against 7 insurers for discriminating against people with HIV, and Pfizer announced it plans to launch its Remicade biosimilar in November.

Communication gaps complicate healthcare and can devastate the prognosis of a patient undergoing cancer treatment. Here are a few ways to overcome inconsistencies with cancer care delivery

Patients with a history of cancer were more likely to suffer from obesity than the general population, according to new research studying the incidence of obesity in cancer survivors.

Brain cancer has replaced leukemia as the leading cause of cancer-related death in children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer.

A study presented at the 2016 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons claims that one-third of women diagnosed with breast cancer do not receive their follow-up exam.

Diets lacking essential nutrients can exacerbate chronic conditions in survivors of childhood cancer and dietary interventions might be necessary to reduce morbidities in this population.

Seventy Americans and 9 international members were elected to the National Academy of Medicine this week.

Atezolizumab, an inhibitor of the programmed death ligand-1 protein, has been approved for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer who failed to respond to treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy.

As we enter a time of extraordinary advances in cancer care, some of the optimism over these advances has been tem­pered by the growing realization of the challenges of delivering these cancer care solutions.

Vice President Joe Biden today presented the Cancer Moonshot report to President Barack Obama and the nation, delineating an actionable plan to transform cancer research and care delivery.

The National Cancer Institute's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences created the Healthcare Delivery Research Program in January 2015, recognizing the need for empirical evidence to address cancer care challenges.

Data released by the CDC today indicate that while breast cancer deaths are on the decline, black women still have worse outcomes than white women. The report also noted disparate trends in breast cancer incidence among different races and age groups.

This week, the top stories in managed care included HHS releasing the final rule for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, a commentary on the downside of drug coupons, and the World Health Organization called on countries to enact a soda tax.

Radiomic combines imaging and computational technologies and can identify patients with recurrent glioblastoma who may benefit from using angiogenesis inhibitors.

A survey by Avalere Health found that only 19% of drug makers publicly post policies about their compassionate use programs.

What we're reading, October 12, 2016: a US senator calls for a limit to prescription fentanyl; healthcare costs aren't skyrocketing, despite claims; IBM's Watson will identify cancer treatment and clinical trials for IBM employees.

A retrospective study in breast cancer patients suggests that patients can lower their out-of-pocket costs by speaking with their oncologist about alternate treatments that may be equally effective and understanding the drug coverage policy of their insurance plan.