January 2021, Vol 11, No 1

Total growth in the oncology pipeline in 2020 has been driven by targeted therapies, said Doug Long, Vice President, Industry Relations, IQVIA, at the 10th Annual Summit of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) in 2020. Read More ›

Enrollment in clinical trials is vital for the advancement of knowledge and improvement of patient outcomes, but few adults participate in cancer clinical trials. The numbers are even lower among minority adolescent and young adults (AYAs). Read More ›

The government now expects healthcare providers and suppliers to have effective compliance programs in place, but a compliance plan only works for you when you are working with it, according to Robert W. Liles, JD, MBA, MS, Managing Partner, Liles Parker, PLLC, Washington, DC, and Paul Weidenfeld, JD, Co-Founder, Exclusion Screening, Washington, DC, who hosted a lively discussion on the ins and outs of effective compliance plans and the laws surrounding them at the virtual 2020 Healthcare Administration Alliance Conference. Read More ›

In an environment of increasing vertical and horizontal integration in healthcare, are new value-based care models in oncology—such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ pilot payment project, the Oncology Care Model (OCM)—working? Five years from now, will we still be talking about efforts to go from volume to value using alternative payment models? Read More ›

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule protects the privacy of patients’ health information (protected health information [PHI]) but is balanced to ensure appropriate use and disclosure of the information when necessary to treat a patient, to protect the nation’s public health, and for other critical purposes. Read More ›

Protecting patients with cancer from financial hardship can save more than money. According to data presented at the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, mitigating the financial burden of cancer treatment on patients may save lives as well. Read More ›

Cancer does not discriminate based on social status, race, income, or education, but that does not mean that it is an equal-opportunity killer. Evidence shows that overall, patients with poorer socioeconomic status also have poorer health outcomes compared with those with good socioeconomic status. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has recently launched a program to address the role of social determinants of health in cancer care and cancer outcomes. Read More ›

Although smoldering myeloma is acknowledged as a clinical entity, debate continues about whether to treat, when to treat, and how to treat this condition, said Natalie S. Callander, MD, Leader, Myeloma/Lymphoma Disease-Oriented Team, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2020 Virtual Congress: hematologic malignancies. Read More ›

VS-6766, a unique inhibitor of the RAF/MEK-signaling pathway, has shown antitumor activity in RAS/RAF mutation–positive solid tumors and in multiple myeloma, when administered on an intermittent dosing schedule, according to recently published data. Read More ›

Medical practices across the United States have undergone major transformations in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and administrators alike have been required to adapt rapidly to shifting protocols and unprecedented demands. These healthcare workers are facing multiple stressors, serious safety concerns, and economic upheavals, which put them at risk for anxiety, depression, and burnout as they work tirelessly to provide services for their patients. Leaders play an important role in supporting their employees during these particularly difficult times. Read More ›