National Comprehensive Cancer Network

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NCCN Academy Video Modules Available for Training

By Kelly Simpson, Manager, Global Initiatives

In response to demands for additional access to the candid, informative discussion content of the NCCN Academy for Excellence & Leadership in Oncology™ School of Pharmaceutical & Biotech Business, limited permission licenses are now available to purchase exclusive video footage from the most recent program for viewing by internal company representatives for one year's time.

This will afford companies the opportunity to share these videos with their teams so they can learn from key stakeholders what they view to be the most pressing issues in oncology today and how to apply this knowledge to create mutually-successful working relationships. Viewers will hear thought leaders discuss how their decisions and programs are shaped by certain types of information and data.

The currently available NCCN Academy Video Module offerings comprise footage from the NCCN Academy program which convened on October 7, 2010 in New York, New York. In the candid discussions moderated by William T. McGivney, PhD, NCCN Chief Executive Officer, four prominent panels took a hard look at the oncology space, its future, and its current operational issues from the provider and payor perspectives among others.

A video featuring the NCCN Academy Module: Real World Trends Impacting Cancer Care – Cost, Reimbursement, and Policy addresses trends impacting the delivery of cancer care, cost, reimbursement, and policy, with reviews of the clinician, payor, and manufacturer points-of-view. Topics include guidelines for clinical practice and pathways, compendia, the type and quanta of data needed to influence decisions, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies (REMS), and healthcare reform. Panelists include Peter B. Bach, MD, MAPP, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Lee N. Newcomer, MD, MHA, UnitedHealthcare; Kavita Patel, MD, MSHS, New America Foundation; and Steve E. Phurrough, MD, MPA, Center for Medical Technology Policy.

Also available on video is the discussion on Guidelines Pathways and the IT Superhighway: Impact on Drugs and Biologics Utilization, which discusses trends in evaluative information and the influence on decision-making about the use of diagnostics, biomarkers, drugs, and biologics.  Described are systems in development and available for decision-support for clinicians in oncology, integration of key information to support system recommendations, use of decision-support tools in management of drug/biologic use, electronic health records, and systems integration across platforms. The panel features Lida Andrews, PharmD, CVS Caremark; Ephraim P. Hochberg, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center; Michael Kolodziej, MD, Innovent Oncology; and Ed Pezalla, MD, Aetna Inc.

An additional module on Information Needs and Investment Decisions on Wall Street provides insight into the information needs and applications for those making decisions in the investment community about diagnostics, biomarkers, drugs, and biologics. This session illustrates perspectives of investment and business thought leaders on how the information needs of Wall Street are viewed and fulfilled, where analysts and investors go for scientific and clinical information, how pharma/biotech companies integrate Wall Street's information needs into their strategies, and how pricing of health care technologies is factored into the decisions made by experts on Wall Street. Perspectives are provided by Jeff Chaffkin, CFA, Charter Oak Partners; James Dougherty, MD, MBA, Arcus Ventures; Douglas D. Lind, MD, GBP Capital Management; and Cynthia Schwalm, Consulting with Cynthia Schwalm.

The widely popular NCCN Academy session, Meet the Experts: NCCN Guidelines Panel Chairs Address Hot Topics and Your Burning Questions, was also taped on October 7, 2010 and is now available as an NCCN Academy Video Module. NCCN Panel Chairs: Al B. Benson, MD, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University; Jeffrey Crawford, MD, Duke Cancer Institute; Susan O'Brien, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, share their insights into the consideration and decision-making processes that result in the recommendations of the NCCN Guidelines. They review the type and level of data needed for submissions to NCCN Guidelines Panels, methodological considerations, the data and studies that are convincing, assignment of NCCN Guidelines Categories of Evidence and Consensus to recommendations, panel considerations of payor implications for NCCN Guidelines recommendations, and public transparency and panel discussions.

The interactive discussions of NCCN Academy and resultant NCCN Academy Video Modules inform participants to improve their working knowledge of key business, policy, coverage, reimbursement, informational, and operational issues in oncology, allowing them to gather valuable insights for developing effective strategies for navigating the various constituencies in cancer care. These video modules are available for purchase at NCCN.org.

The next NCCN Academy program is scheduled for March 9, 2011 in Hollywood, Florida. It will take place at the start of the NCCN Annual Conference and will feature three new topical modules: Employers: Paying for Drugs and Biologics in Cancer Care; FDA/CMS Watch; and Meet the Fellows.