Ronald Piana

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium to Hold 33rd Annual SymposiumHIGHLIGHTS BREAKTHROUGHS IN RESEARCH AND TREATMENT

All trials are not equal, even those conducted by the NCI. It’s all about design, according to leading lung cancer specialist.

Kaiser Health asked the question, see P&P contributor’s answer

This is important, mark your calender! Final Rules webinar on Thursday, December 2, 2010

20% fewer lung cancer deaths seen among those who were screened with low-dose spiral CT than with chest X-ray

Exit polls show that health-care took a back seat to the economy. But the GOP is bent on reforming the Reform. Check out the early analysis from major news outlets.

Check out this summary of healthcare policy coverage from the major news organizations

Surveys have shown that the mean days in accounts receivable for US oncology practices averages about 36 days. With today’s slim margins, your AC department needs to do a better job.

New guidelines advise caution advised when prescribing epoetin and darbepoetin

Two doctors, formerly with CMS, make a case for comparative effectiveness. Their paper is sure to spark heated debate within the prostate cancer community--as always, never a dull moment in prostate cancer.

AACR Colorectal Cancer Conference to Focus on Screening, New Treatments

The Affordable Care Act establishes a voluntary program for accountable care organizations (ACOs) by January 2012. What does it mean for oncology?

Interviewer, Ron Piana,: Hello, this is Ron Piana, executive editor of the journal Oncology. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), an annual health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention and cure.

Researchers find that patients lacking private health insurance or are poor or black fare worse than other cancer patients.

Medicare only covers 57% of the actual costs of delivering chemotherapy and provided related infusion room services to seniors with cancer: Watch this important video: Cancer Care is in Crisis: Stop The Cancer Care Cuts

The regulatory agency isn’t represented on the board of governors of the new Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

It establishes a menu of preventive procedures, like colonoscopies, mammograms and immunizations that must be covered without co-payments.

Studies done decades ago found that mammograms reduced the breast cancer death rate by 15 to 25%. But that was when treatment was much less effective. A new study looks at an aging question: Should mammograms still be the “gold standard?”

Aetna is examining data from 13,000 of its members to determine if patients who should be getting breast-and-ovarian cancer screening tests are in fact being offered them.

Two cousins with cancer were randomized to different arms of a clinical trial of Roche’s melanoma drug, PLX4032. The implications were covered in a NYTs story, which questioned the ethical implications of our current trial design.

As reported in a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, cancer patients who die at home do so more peacefully, and their caregivers end up doing better emotionally, too.

Studies have shown that underutilization of hospice care increases end-of-life costs; more aggressive use of hospice could lead to significant savings and better care. Medicare seems to understand that promoting hospice care is not a "Death Panel."

In today’s heated healthcare debate, nuance matters, so does public perception. The term comparative effectiveness research, once the darling of policy wonks, had perception problems right out of the gate. So, the research stays, but the term goes.

Community cancer clinics, which treat more than 75% of all cancer patients, are struggling with Medicare reimbursement. Cuts in the Proposed 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will a have devastating effect on the delivery of cancer care. COA is calling for action.

Despite efforts by the manufacturer to reduce the cost of Avastin, the clinical effectiveness agency for England and Wales says that it will not recommend the drug for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

On August 18th during a meeting with “The Pink Sheet Daily” Biotechnology Industry Organization CEO Jim Greenwood said, CMS decision to conduct Provenge NCA could be “Chilling to future innovation.”

As adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) continues to grow, there still exists a gap in the ability of some providers and vendors to ensure successful implementation. This starter-kit of resources can help you take advantage of government incentives and prepare you for EHR adoption.

Looking to expand the reach of its care beyond the hospital’s walls and hours of operation, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) has launched a new online community for people affected by cancer.

The passage of MMA changed the oncology practice landscape, now we’re entering into unknown territory with Obama’s reform bill. Voice your opinions/perspectives on practice and policy issues affecting cancer care with 35,000 of your colleagues on the pages of ONCOLOGY.

We are pleased to announce that internationally regarded radiation oncologist, Nora Janjan, MD, Editor-in-Chief of ONCOLOGY, will parlay her policy expertise and serve as Editor for the journal’s new Practice & Policy department set to launch in the September edition.