Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Launches Inaugural Forum on Driving Value and Outcomes in Oncology

Alexandria, Va., Nov. 18, 2016 — The accelerating pace of oncology innovation and the complexity of cancer treatments were key themes underlying the discussion of value and outcomes in oncology at a national health care forum hosted this week by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).

The AMCP partnership forum focused on the need to drive better value and outcomes in oncology for patients, providers, payers and delivery networks. Attendees discussed ideas and concepts to help sort through a wave of new oncology products coming to market each year. The event drew roughly 40 thought leaders from health plans, integrated delivery systems, PBMs, clinical practice, the biopharmaceutical companies, and laboratory companies. Also participating were representatives from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association.

“The challenge before us is clear,” AMCP CEO Susan Cantrell, RPh, CAE said. “How can we drive advances that facilitate patients receiving the best oncology treatments available today, while remaining good stewards of our health care dollars?” 

Forum participants examined topics such as the top oncology management challenges for providers and payers and delivery networks; opportunities for outcomes-based contracting in oncology; the alignment of population management principles with precision medicine; and the role of emerging oncology-specific evaluation and decision support tools in managed care settings. Participants’ recommendations included:  

• Address regulatory and legislative barriers, including around price reporting, sharing of health care economic information (HCEI) used in coverage decisions, labeling, and FDA oversight of diagnostic/device approvals;
• Develop guiding principles and define the key elements and data sets to support value-based partnerships and payment models between biopharmaceutical companies and payers;
• Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop quality and outcome measures that are clinically meaningful and measurable;
• Improve decision support tools – such as pathways, value frameworks, prior authorization criteria and EHRs – by incorporating real world evidence, diagnostic and genomic data;
• Improve data fragmentation and interoperability by developing standards that allow for better oncology data collection and sharing, and reducing the administrative burden on clinicians; and
• Recognize AMCP’s Format for Formulary Submissions and the eDossier system are well suited to provide disease state and precision medicine data for decision makers.

Cantrell noted that innovation is offering new hope for treatments and cures for cancers that were inconceivable only a few short years ago. “What’s also clear is that some of these advances offer better outcomes in terms of quality of life, remission rates and possibly a cure. Recognizing and rewarding value is the name of the game in today’s health care arena as we move to more cancers being treated as chronic conditions.”

The recommendations will be published in the first quarter of 2017 in AMCP’s Journal of Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy and presented during a webinar on March 22, 2017. 

The event was supported by Abbvie, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Foundation Medicine, Ion Solutions, Janssen Oncology, Lilly & Co., the National Pharmaceutical Council, Novartis, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Sanofi, Takeda Oncology and Xcenda. The Moderator was Susan Winckler, chief risk management officer, Leavitt Partners and former chief of staff of the US Food and Drug Administration.