Houston, TX—On March 29-31, 2012, approximately 200 oncologists, payers, employers, managed care executives, pharmacy benefit managers, and other stakeholders convened for the Second Annual Stakeholder Integration Conference of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC). The mission of the conference was to align the various perspectives around the central needs of defining value in cancer care and developing strategies for enhancing patient outcomes.
“We have brought together viewpoints from all the stakeholders across the cancer care continuum, and it has been an interactive and productive experience,” said Gary M. Owens, MD, President of Gary Owens Associates, and conference co-chair, at the conclusion of the meeting that featured more than 20 sessions and symposia led by nearly 30 oncology leaders.
Optimizing Value Discussions focused on current trends and challenges in optimizing value, cost, quality, and access issues, and the different approaches and tools that providers and payers are using to manage and deliver cancer care collaboratively.
The conference was chaired by Dr Owens, Al B. Benson, III, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, and Burt Zweigenhaft, BS, Chief Executive Officer and President of OncoMed, Great Neck, NY.
Commenting on the rationale for the conference, Mr Zweigenhaft noted, “This past year we witnessed a great deal of change in the field of oncology, including a movement toward personalized care, numerous challenges to healthcare providers, drug shortages, the advent of biosimilar agents, and the ever-shifting landscape of oncology drug reimbursement. Our goal is the same: to provide the best care possible for patients with malignancies while utilizing healthcare resources wisely. We want to continue the dialogue among providers, payers, and all other members of the oncology team to foster a better understanding of their points of view.”
Dr Owens concurred: “The current system is at a crisis point, and we need concerted efforts across multiple stakeholders to resolve this crisis. Patients want the best care for a disease that is frightening to them and want to be sure they have access to care. Providers want to be sure they can provide that care in a relatively unimpeded fashion, and to continue to operate their practices. Payers want to assure access, but must be responsible to people whose dollars they manage. They want to communicate that they are ‘minding the store.’ They ultimately pay the bill and they want to know what they are getting for that.”
Dr Benson agreed that unity in the effort to establish value-based cancer care is critical. “It is imperative that we have more platforms for interaction. No one group will solve our complex problems,” he pointed out.
“As a clinician, I know there is concern that if we are not at that table, we will be increasingly left out of the loop. Our hope is that clinicians will provide direction for decision-making and not have decisions mandated by others who are not directly engaged at this level. We all have a vested interest in problem-solving, and everyone has to hear everyone else’s side of the equation. At this meeting, we can bring together people for these discussions. It’s the only way to make progress and to develop new models that are desperately needed for providing high-quality care for our patients.”
