Keeping your future in sight: Highlights from our Spring Knowledge Forum

At this spring’s Knowledge Forum, held May 2-3 in Chicago, VitalSource™ GPO members gathered together to network, share best practices and discuss the outlook for the future of community oncology. As we approach 2020, oncology is facing unprecedented change on all fronts – from regulation and value-based care to exciting clinical advances in precision medicine and emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence, that will help drive operational efficiency and guide clinical decision making. The discussions at our spring event reflected the importance of keeping an eye on the future and the insights shared by industry experts provided attendees with valuable strategies to future-proof their practices.

Here are some of the highlights:

For community oncology practices, the struggle to maintain their autonomy continues. Community Oncology Alliance’s (COA) 2018 Practice Impact Report shows that an additional 658 practices were acquired by hospitals and 423 clinics were closed last year. Nearly 400 reported that they were struggling financially. Despite this challenging environment, 55 percent of patients are receiving cancer treatment in the community setting.  In his opening comments, Joe DePinto, President of Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, reinforced VitalSource™ GPO’s deep commitment to community oncology practices and their essential role in patient care. Joe highlighted investments being made in leadership, clinical expertise, technology solutions, and distribution infrastructure by Cardinal Health to empower the success of community-based practices.

Site of care dispensing programs are faced with numerous financial, patient access and accreditation challenges from pharmacy benefit managers. These challenges threaten site of care dispensing, which is vital to providing outstanding care for patients receiving oral oncolytics.

Casey Foster, Lead Consultant for VitalSource™ GPO’s Site of Care Dispensing Solutions, led a panel discussion with Ricky Newton of COA, Mike Reff of the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA), and VitalSource™ GPO member Chris Kepinski, PharmD, Pharmacy Manager at Southern Oncology Specialists. In this enlightening discussion, the panel reviewed ways for stakeholders to collaborate on strategies for combating these financial pressures to preserve site of care dispensing for the future.

Ricky shared some of the work that COA is doing to help ensure “Fair and Reasonable” reimbursement for practices dispensing oral medication. In addition to their legal advocacy, COA is also lobbying for more permanent legislative changes at a national level. More information about their efforts and how practices can join in these efforts will be shared at an upcoming webinar, scheduled later this month.

Mike shared how NCODA’s Going Beyond the First Fill initiative is helping practices across the country gain access to specialty commercial networks that carve out refills to specialty pharmacies. Working with NCODA to gain access to these networks has helped practices not only improve patient access but also the improve the quality of care they are receiving.

Chris shared how his practice was able to successfully grow its oral dispensing operation by leveraging these advocacy groups and using tools provided by VitalSource™ GPO. As a result of this collaboration, Chris’ practice has been able to improve their reimbursement and has a better understanding of the revenue stream oral dispensing provides. Additionally, the visibility they’ve gained to their empirical data using VitalSource™ GPO’s analytics tools has allowed them to share data with private commercial insurers, which has resulted in increased access for patients.  

In addition to the changing landscape for site of care dispensing programs, a wide range of clinical, policy and technology trends will continue to transform the treatment landscape. At the event, experts provided insight and outlook into the implications that these trends will have for practices.

• Jerrica Mathis of Crowell & Morning led a bipartisan panel discussing the impact of drug pricing proposals from the current administration, legislation surrounding PBMs and 340B and ongoing oncology payment reforms.
• John Frownfelter, MD, of Jvion led a discussion with Barry Russo, CEO for The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders, and Rohan Sharma, MD, of Northwest Medical Specialties on how these practices implemented artificial intelligence and how they structured their staffing and operational resources to best leverage the insights they received.
• Bruce Feinberg, DO, Chief Medical Officer for Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions, shared insights on the latest advancements in precision medicine, the growing role of genetic testing and the challenges community oncology practices face in managing the logistics of genomic tests.

If you couldn’t attend our Spring Knowledge Forum, be sure to mark your calendar for the fall meeting, November 7-9 in Phoenix, AZ. In addition to rich content and engaging conversations about topics currently transforming our industry, Knowledge Forum offers hands-on, interactive breakout sessions for both pharmacists and administrators, featuring topics such as navigating accreditation, telemedicine and more.

Knowledge Forum is an invitation-only event exclusively for VitalSource™ GPO members. To learn more and request your invitation, contact GMB-VitalSource@cardinalhealth.com.  

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