Practice Transformation
Research published in the Journal of American College of Clinical Pharmacy supports the pharmacist’s role in facilitating pharmacogenomics (PGx). In 96% (n=24) of the patients in the study, pharmacists found genetic variants that could affect the safety and effectiveness of at least one drug a patient was taking. “The study confirmed the critical role to be played by pharmacists in facilitating the clinical usage of relevant genetic information to optimize drug therapy decisions as well as their involvement on many levels of these multidisciplinary implementation efforts, including championing and leading PGx?guided CMM services,” researchers concluded. (JACCP)
In a recent survey, 51% of primary care physicians and 45% of specialty care physicians said cost transparency from payers would help them succeed in value-based care models. In contrast, only 27% percent of nurses and 32% of advanced practice providers said they wanted cost transparency resources from payers. Overall, however, the responses from the Insights by Xtelligent Healthcare Media survey indicate that provider confidence to negotiate value-based agreements varies drastically based on the resources available to them, RevCycle Intelligence reports. (RevCycle Intelligence)
Evidence & Innovation
The CDC recently announced a national initiative to help trace patterns of transmission, investigate outbreaks and map how the coronavirus is evolving. As the virus replicates, tiny mutations accumulate in its genetic code. This can help scientists trace patterns of transmission and investigate outbreaks, The New York Times reports. It also provides an understanding of how the virus is evolving, which can affect the accuracy of diagnostics tests and the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines. An accompanying article explains how coronavirus mutates and spreads. (NYT story; NYT explainer)
Listen to this virtual briefing on COVID-19 with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins Medicine, U.C. Davis Health and organizations representing the chronic disease community. Learn from experts about why the COVID-19 virus can put people with chronic conditions/diseases at higher risk for complications. Sixty-eight organizations co-sponsored the briefing–hosted by the Chronic Care Policy Alliance (GTMRx executive member California Chronic Care Coalition/CCPA)—and over 2,100 individuals from 50 states and around the world participated. (Chronic Care Alliance)
Policy Solutions
The government has begun distributing remdesivir, but there’s not enough for everyone eligible, leaving doctors with difficult decisions—decisions complicated by a lack of robust data, such as which patients are most likely to benefit from remdesivir. “We want to have enough for everyone,” said Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital tells STAT News. “And if we don’t, we want to have enough information, so with this limited resource, we can distribute it in the best way possible. We feel like our hands are tied without those data.” (STAT News)
Medication shortages will be the next big crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeremy Samuel Faust, MD, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, writes in an opinion piece for The Atlantic. The number of drugs in shortages is a “shocking development in a rich country.” He also offered a solution. Among his recommendations: The FDA should require drugmakers to disclose the companies that make their ingredients; the FDA could then identify production hiccups early and guarantee that ingredients are reserved for medical use. (The Atlantic)
In Case You Missed It!
Lawrence Lesko, Ph.D., F.C.P.—Professor Emeritus of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy; Founding Director of the Center for Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology; and former Director of the Office of Clinical Pharmacology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the FDA—spoke to the GTMRx Pharmacogenomics Payment and Policy Taskforce on May 12 about the FDA’s issued guidance on pharmacogenomics (PGx) during the last several years. He discussed the FDA’s history, his current perspective on PGx and how the FDA guidance could impact PGx payment and policy.
The GTMRx HIT and AI to Support Optimized Medication Use Workgroup has recruited several new workgroup members: Maria Osundele, Orange Regional Medical Center; Kandace Schuft, Wolters Kluwer; Sarah Mallak, Genoa Healthcare; Robert B Nauman, Biopharma Advisors; Rohit Moghe, Quality Health Alliance ACO/CIN, Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic; and John McGlew, American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
Thursday, May 28, 2020 | 1- 2 p.m. EDT
The COVID-19 global health care crisis has created a real opportunity to expand access to care through telehealth. How do we optimize patient outcomes and ensure appropriate use of medications virtually?
Join us for our upcoming webinar featuring Jared Augenstein, MA, MPH (Director; Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP) and Melissa Badowski, PharmD, MPH, FCCP, BCIDP, BCPS, AAHIVP (Clinical Associate Professor, Section of Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy; Department of Pharmacy Practice,University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Pharmacy) to hear from a clinical pharmacist and a policy analyst as they discuss barriers to implementation and opportunities that the coronavirus pandemic offers to expand telehealth services. They will consider in what way these changes may impact care delivery.
Register here.
Remarks from the GTMRx / Bipartisan Policy Center Feb 6 keynote address by Gregory Downing, D.O.,(page 10-13) “Get the Medications Right: Innovations in Team-Based Care,” in the latest edition of the Personalized Medicine Coalition’s Personalized Medicine in Brief. Read it here.
Guest: Paul Grundy, MD, Chief Transformation Officer, Innovaccer; Interim President, GTMRx Institute
Hosted by the GTMRx Institute’s executive director and co-founder, Katherine H. Capps, Voices of Change features leaders who have knowledge, experience and ideas to solve this urgent need to get the medications right.
