Oncology Management Podcast Series with Bill McGivney

Welcome to the Oncology Management Podcast Series - Presented by IIR's Annual Summit for Oncology Management. Joining us today is Bill McGivney, Principal, McGivney Global Advisory LLC & former CEO, National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Download the complete podcast & transcript here.

To begin, could you please comment on what appears to be a seemingly never-ending call to define value in healthcare?

Bill: To answer your question about the definition of value in healthcare, you know I really do continue to be amazed at the calls that come out of national committee meetings and publications, etc. to say that we continue to have to define and develop a national standard for what value is in the healthcare system. To me, it seems really simple. I mean, I’ve been around the healthcare system for almost 30 years now. The value is the clinical benefit derived by patients, specifically, for the expenditure of a specified amount of healthcare dollars. That’s pretty simple. Sometimes when people try to develop these long equations to which I’ve seen, it’s a gust of bodies when they have their conferences. I mean, I saw one once years ago and I just commented to the moderator of the session that one, the long equations for the definition of cost effectiveness was mind-numbing and two, it would never see the light of day. I was right on both accounts. 

So, I think my simple definition is pervasive in terms of this is what value is. It’s really, again, the clinical patient benefit that’s obtained for a specified expenditure of healthcare dollars.

Download the rest of the Podcast here.

To hear more from Bill, please join us at IIR’s Annual Oncology Management Summit, July 21-23 in Philadelphia, PA.

To save 15% off your registration rate, use the code: XP1914BLOG

Register Now!

Oncology Management Podcast Series with Bill McGivney

Welcome to the Oncology Management Podcast Series. 

Joining us today is Bill McGivney, Principal, McGivney Global Advisory LLC & former CEO, National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Below you will find a teaser from Bill's podcast session, click here to listen to the complete podcast and to download the transcript.

How and to what extent do various stakeholders bring value to the treatment of patients with cancer?

Bill: Well, I think that’s something that we really need to look at closer because there are a lot of discussions, obviously, about the level of healthcare expenditures and the increase and rate of rise and expenditures of care to treat patients with cancer.

First of all, you look at providers and clearly their expertise, their acumen and their understanding is really about providing what the optimal treatment recommendations are for patients. Carrying out that treatment plan brings a lot of value to the system.

And then you look at the manufacturers, the biopharma companies, the medical device companies and they bring innovative products to the market that address the many, many needs and unmet needs that still exist for the many different types of cancer specifically. And that’s critical. They bring value to patients directly.

Then, you start to get down into other areas of the healthcare system that are more management operations oriented and you look at managed-care companies. They bring value in the sense that they help to organize the system. They pay the claims and the develop networks of clinicians to work with patients specifically.

But, really, what I think we need to do is, as we expend resources to bring care ultimately to patients with cancer, we really need to take a closer look at, again, which components, which stakeholders bring actual value to the treatment of patients.

Download the rest of the Podcast here.

To hear more from Bill, please join us at IIR’s Annual Oncology Management Summit, July 21-23 in Philadelphia, PA.

To save 15% off your registration rate, use the code: XP1914BLOG

Register Now!

Register for the Oncology Management Summit by Friday 5/23 to Save $400!

The recent debate over healthcare reforms has made one thing clear: unsustainable costs are leading to fundamental shifts in the way cancer care is delivered. There is a growing expectation that healthcare represents good "value".

As a stakeholder within the cancer care value chain many complex issues vie for your time and attention. You must simultaneously grasp the big picture, staying abreast of the changing oncology landscape, and keep focused on the day-to-day concerns that impact delivery of effective and efficient patient care. At IIR's Oncology Management Summit you will walk away with solutions to the most critical issues: cost, access to care, incorporating new technology, and meeting standards for patient-centered care. Oncology pioneers provide an understanding of the big picture, but also with practical, useful information to help you improve care now.

IIR's Annual Summit for Oncology Management is your 360° view of the cancer value chain; where stakeholders and influencers including payers, providers, hospital systems, leading cancer centers, and pharmaceutical executives convene to discuss how to control costs, increase quality, determine value and improve overall patient experience for cancer care.

For a more detailed look into the Oncology Management Summit, download the agenda.

To learn more about the evolution of cancer care, join us July 21-23 in Philadelphia, PA. Register by this Friday – May, 23rd and save $400! Just use the code: XP1914BLOG


Register Today!

Summit for Oncology Management Podcast Series with Dr. Ronan Kelly of John Hopkins

Summit for Oncology Management Podcast Series

Below is a teaser from our podcast series with Dr. Ronan Kelly...

Director of Gastroesophageal Cancer Therapeutics Program, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and the Medical Director of Global Oncology, John Hopkins International

Download the full podcast & transcript here.

To begin, the Institute of Medicine has declared that cancer care in the US is a system in crisis. Do you agree? 

Dr. Kelly: The word “crisis”, I think, may not be the best word to use. I certainly think that major changes are needed. If we, as a cancer community, do not take ownership of some of the problems that we will talk about today, then I think others will make the tough decisions for us.
What we have learned, especially in the last couple of years, is that costs will not constrain themselves and that we really are reaching a tipping point where we need to take definitive and direct action. Often, some uncomfortable actions will be required to get on back on path.

Some of the trends that are amplifying the crisis – as pointed out by the Institute of Medicine – is that we do have an aging population of, thankfully, more and more survivors. But, what we are seeing is a 30% increase in cancer survivors by 2020 as a result of many of the significant scientific treatment advances that we’ve been able to achieve in the last couple of years. But we are also seeing that the incidence of cancer is expected to go up approximately 45% by 2030. So, because of these changing or increasing patient survivors and increasing cancer numbers, we are seeing that the cost of cancer care is really, really going up. In the US we are expecting between 2010 and 2020 that there will be a 39% increase in the cost of cancer care up to $173 billion and some experts are even saying that this may be conservative estimate.

So, I think we certainly need to make changes. The current system that we have right now is not sustainable. So, some direct and often uncomfortable actions will need to be done in order to get us back on track. And to ensure that we continue to treat future generations with better and better treatments. So, some decisions are needed right now. I would agree that the system needs to be altered and, in some cases, needs to be dramatically fixed.

To hear more from Dr. Kelly, please join us July 21-23 in Philadelphia, PA for IIR's Summit for Oncology Management. 

To receive 15% off the standard registration rate, use the code: XP1914BLOG

Save 15% today, register now.

Key Players Convene to Improve Quality and Cost of Cancer Care

IIR’s Collaborative Summit for Oncology Management brings together perspectives from a diverse range of companies — public and private payers, providers, health systems, patient groups, pharmaceutical companies, PBMs, and specialty pharmacies. Together, you will address key topics to uncover innovative managed care strategies that effectively manage your rising costs while gaining new ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of cancer care.

The in-depth speaker line-up at the Oncology Management Summit is comprised of experts, leaders, and executives including:

• Lee Newcomer, SVP, Oncology, Genetics and Women’s Health, UnitedHealthcare
• Ira Klein, Chief of Staff, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Aetna
• Barbara Walters, MD, Executive Medical Director, Dartmouth – Hitchcock
• Ted Okon, Executive Director, Community Oncology Alliance (COA)
• Jan Berger, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Silverlink Communications
• Karen Fields, MD, Medical Director, Strategic Alliances, Moffitt Cancer Center
• Gwen Darien, Director, The Pathways Project
• Bruce J. Gould, MD, Medical Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers
• Michael Kolodziej, MD, FACP, Medical Director, Oncology Strategy, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, Aetna
• Elan Rubinstein, PharmD, MPH, EB Rubinstein Associates
• William T. McGivney, PhD, Former NCCN CEO, McGivney Global Advisors
• Jack Whelan, Patient Advocate & Member, Personalized Medicine Coalition

To learn more, download our brochure.

As a reader of this blog, you can use priority code XP1814BLOG to receive 15% off of the standard rate to register. If you have any questions or need any further information, feel free to email kdevery@iirusa.com or visit the webpage.

We look forward to seeing you in June!

Best,
Oncology Management Team

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Will increasing the quality of palliative care help decrease the number of hospital visits?

Could optimizing the quality of cancer care and cost at home help reduce both the number of hospital visits, and increase survival rates? According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, there have been no studies to show that increased spending also increases patient survival rates.

Advanced cancer spending varied by up to 41 percent between high- and low-spending regions. The Midwest and West contained the majority of low-spending regions, while high-spending regions were located in central New Jersey, Southern California and Louisiana, Medscape Medical News reported.

Although researchers have found that increased spending relating to cancer care also correlates to longer hospital stays they must consider a significant amount of that number could be from chemotherapy costs. Is making palliative care more accessible the solution?

Want to learn more about managing palliative care? At IIR’s Collaborative Summit for Oncology Management, we'll discuss new ways to manage palliative and end-of-life care to control cost and improve patient outcomes. To learn more, download our brochure.

As a reader of this blog you receive 15% off the standard rate when your register using code XP1814BLOG. We hope to see you June 17-18 in Chicago!