Oncology Business Management | Specialty

The OncLive Oncology Business Management condition center page is a comprehensive resource for news and expert insights on business-focused updates and topics in oncology practices, including diversity efforts, telehealth, gaps in care, payment models, and more. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on updates and best practices with oncology business management.

The New Administration May Speed Up the Pace of Innovation

February 5th 2017

With ambitious goals to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care, CMS has placed a lot of faith in its Oncology Care Model, an alternative payment model.

FDA Grants Pembrolizumab Priority Review in Second-Line Bladder Cancer

February 4th 2017

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental Biologics License Application for pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who progress following platinum-containing chemotherapy, according to Merck, the manufacturer of the PD-1 inhibitor.

Dr. Sanft on Sequencing of Treatments for HER2+ Breast Cancer

February 3rd 2017

Tara Sanft, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, medical director of Adult Survivorship for Yale Cancer Center Survivorship Clinic, discusses sequencing of treatments for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Practicing Oncology in the Gray Zone

February 1st 2017

"Uncertainty" is a routine dilemma when discussing a prognosis with a patient with cancer and his or her family. The prognosis is, at best, a statistical probability—assuming the available objective data are somewhat representative of the individual patient.

Who Is at the Controls of 340B?

January 29th 2017

The 340B Drug Pricing Program, designed to provide support for out-patient drug purchases, severely lacks federal oversight, said BRG Healthcare, the business advisory group, in a report sponsored by the Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B (AIR340B).

CMS Keeps Innovation Under Lock and Key

January 27th 2017

Several organizations are developing alternative payment models they hope CMS will adopt as ways to encourage oncologists to deliver care at a lower cost while improving its quality. If approved, these proposals could become customized alternatives to the agency’s Oncology Care Model.

Protect Yourself From Malpractice Claims

January 25th 2017

Compared with other specialists, medical oncologists are not often the target of malpractice litigation. Even so, they still get sued.

COA Takes Aim at PBMs in 2017

January 19th 2017

The Community Oncology Alliance got most of its 2016 Christmas list. CVS Caremark dropped its plan to cut physician-owned dispensaries out of Medicare Part D oral drug distribution, CMS eased off the gas pedal on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, and the Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model has been discontinued for now.

Researcher Discusses Optimal Sequencing in Advanced RCC

January 16th 2017

Guru Sonpavde, MD, discusses challenges with sequencing in advanced renal cell carcinoma and his vision for the field going forward.

Solutions Start to Emerge for Cumbersome EHR Reporting

January 14th 2017

Cota, a New York-based precision informatics company, has developed what it says will be a significant aid for oncology practices working to conform to the expectations of CMS’s Oncology Care Model, which is designed to encourage physicians to strive for better patient outcomes and lower costs.

Dr. Usmani on Importance of CASTOR/POLLUX Trials in Myeloma

January 14th 2017

Saad Z. Usmani, MD, Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders, Levine Cancer Institute/Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses the importance of the CASTOR and POLLUX trials for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma.

Big Hopes for Big Data: Digital Information Focus Underpins Cancer Moonshot Goals

January 13th 2017

The ambitious goals of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, now incorporated into the recently enacted 21st Century Cures Act, are generating excitement among oncology leaders.

FDA Grants Atezolizumab Priority Review for Second Bladder Cancer Indication

January 10th 2017

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application for the use of the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma as a frontline therapy or following progression occurring ≥12 months after neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.

Paging Dr. Watson....

January 8th 2017

Watson for Oncology is the name of the new iteration from IBM. It achieved 90% concordance with tumor boards at the Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Center in Bengaluru, India, according to results presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

FDA Lifts Clinical Hold on Pacritinib

January 5th 2017

The FDA has lifted its clinical hold on trials exploring pacritinib, according to CTI BioPharma, the developer of the JAK2/FLT3 inhibitor.

FDA Grants Regorafenib Priority Review in Liver Cancer

January 4th 2017

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application for the use of regorafenib as a second-line treatment for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

For Independent Oncology Practices, Storm Clouds Came and Went in 2016

December 30th 2016

For independent oncology practices, 2016 was a year of struggle—struggle to achieve new levels of reporting to CMS, and struggle to improve interaction with patients and coordination of care.

Consolidation Ripples Out From Florida

December 29th 2016

Florida is a leader in the consolidation trend, topping the nation in the number of practices that have closed, merged, or been acquired in recent years.

Startups See Gold in Heaps of Patient Data

December 28th 2016

Boston-based Berg Health is attempting to do away with a traditional form of scientific inquiry in an attempt to find better answers.

FDA Halts Several Trials of Vadastuximab Talirine in AML

December 28th 2016

The FDA has placed clinical holds on several phase I trials of vadastuximab talirine (SGN-CD33A) in acute myeloid leukemia, according to Seattle Genetics, the manufacturer of the antibody-drug conjugate.