Hematology Conference Reporter Series: Keeping Pace with Payer Implications of the Latest Clinical Updates on Hematologic Malignancies for Hematology/Oncology and Managed Care Professionals

Expert Insights on Data Presented at the 2013 NCCN Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies

• Release date: January 2014
• Expiration date: July 31, 2015
• Estimated Time to Complete Activity: 1.5 hours
• Compatible with (IE 6 and up, Firefox, Safari)

Faculty

John Fox, MD Senior Medical Director Associate Vice President, Medical Affairs Priority Health Click here for biography

James Kenney, Jr., RPh, MBA Pharmacy Operations Manager Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, Inc. Click here for biography Joseph Mikhael MD, MEd, FRCPC, FACP Associate Dean, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education Deputy Director - Education, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Associate Professor, Mayo College of Medicine Mayo Clinic in Arizona Click here for biography

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of community hematologists/oncologists, the extended hematology/oncology care team including pathologists, radiologists, nurse practitioners, oncology nurses, oncology pharmacists, case managers, and patient navigators, as well as managed care professionals involved in the care of patients with hematologic malignancies.

Statement of Need/Program Overview

There is a strong need to provide both hematology/oncology clinicians and managed care decision-makers with insights regarding the clinical and economic value of targeted cancer treatments, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), monoclonal antibodies, and immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) for hematologic cancer patients. As cancer care becomes increasingly “personalized,” managed care decision makers struggle to design effective benefit plans that continue to advance the needs of the “majority” (their membership).

Hematologists/oncologists, working with individual cancer patients, struggle to choose treatments that are effective, while minimizing toxicities and the financial risk for both patients and the health care system. For both parties, the fast pace of new product development and lack of comprehensive and comparative clinical data will only continue to compound the challenges associated with decision making.

Using two of the most common hematologic cancer diagnoses, multiple myeloma (MM) and Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), as examples, this activity features practical discussions and demonstrations of current and emerging clinical data, pharmacy benefit design options, and resource management tools. Thought leaders and managed care experts evaluate and recommend innovative strategies that will enhance the knowledge and competency of managed care professionals who are striving to optimize both cost-efficiency and treatment outcomes for cancer patients.

For community-based hematologists/oncologists, this activity will explore current and emerging data in some of the most common patient subsets in the spectrum of hematologic malignancies. Academic and community-based experts will review and interpret the latest clinical data for new and investigational targeted agents for MM and CML and explain the recommendations and gaps associated with current published treatment guidelines. Managed care experts will reveal their current and future approaches for MCO reimbursement of mutation testing and medical treatments, as well as spotlight the support services that MCOs provide to reinforce hematologists’/oncologists’ patient education and compliance efforts.

Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Utilize the latest clinical data to optimize decisions regarding the management of care for patients with hematologic malignancies, both in terms of clinical practice and benefit design
• Employ new and evolving treatment algorithms that incorporate the results of histology, biomarker, and mutation testing to direct treatment decisions and improve the outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies
• Describe evidence-based strategies for managing MM and CML patients who relapse after receipt of initial targeted therapies
• Differentiate the risks and benefits of novel and emerging treatment strategies for patients with MM and CML
• Demonstrate the use of comparative effectiveness research as a decision-support tool to appropriately invest resources and reduce treatment variability with hematologic cancer therapies
• Utilize economic data to implement benefit design strategies that facilitate the cost-effective treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies.
• Provide complete, accurate, and appropriate counsel to patients with hematologic malignancies as part of the managed care and hematology/oncology treatment team

Physician Credit
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Medical Education Resources (MER) and Impact Education, LLC. MER is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacy Credit

	Medical Education Resources (MER) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.MER designates this continuing education activity for 1.5 contact hour(s) (0.15 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

(Universal Activity Number - 0816-9999-14-001-H01-P)

This activity is certified as knowledge-based CPE.

Nursing Credit
Medical Education Resources is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

This CE activity provides 1.5 contact hours of continuing nursing education.

Medical Education Resources is a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP 12299, for 1.5 contact hours.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Medical Education Resources ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational programs. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies conflicts of interest with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Conflicts are resolved by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a continuing education activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. MER is committed to providing its learners with high-quality activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:

The content managersreported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:

Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in and receiving credit for this activity. During the period January 2014 through July 31, 2015, participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures, 2) study the educational activity, 3) complete the posttest by recording the best answer to each question, and 4) complete the evaluation form. A 70% passing score is required for the posttest. 

Upon completion of the full CME/CE activity, your certificate will be made available immediately to download and print.

For Pharmacists: Upon receipt of the completed activity evaluation form, transcript information will be available at www.mycpemonitor.net within 4 weeks.

Media
Internet

Disclaimer
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources, Impact Education, LLC, and/or Celgene Corporation, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of Medical Education Resources, Impact Education, LLC, and/or Celgene Corporation, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. MER’s ANCC accreditation status does not imply endorsement by MER or ANCC of any commercial products displayed in conjunction with this activity. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

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Fee Information
There is no fee for this educational activity.