| Conference Calendar
At-a-Glance |
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October
8-9: Cancer Center Business Summit: Dallas, TX
September
14: CBI's 3rd Annual Oncology Clinical Trial Summit: Washington, DC
24-26: Fifth Annual Oncology Conference: San Francisco, CA
November
5-8: ASH Annual Meeting: New Orleans, LA
June 2010
4-8: ASCO Annual Meeting: Chicago, IL
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Take Your Health Concerns to the Top
Without a doubt, the health care discussion in Washington is the most pressing public policy debate medicine has seen in the last 15 years. While the outcome is unknown, all legislation is as much process driven as it is policy driven. And it's driven by real grassroots action. That's where you make the difference.
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CMS Publishes 2010 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
On July 01, 2009, CMS published the Proposed Rule for the 2010 Physician Fee Schedule. As expected, the proposed rule includes a significant rate reduction for 2010.
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Sales Directory |
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SWON Information Exchange - August 2009 |
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Time to Consider Cost in Evaluating Cancer Drugs in United States?
Nick Mulcahy
July 14, 2009 - It is not sustainable.
That is the prevailing opinion of a number of oncology and healthcare experts - in government, academia, and even industry - interviewed by Medscape Oncology or publicly commenting about the spiraling cost of cancer drugs in the United States.
Oncology drugs are now the best-selling class of drug, having surpassed lipid regulators. Last year, oncologic drugs had annual sales in the United States of $19.2 billion, according to figures from IMS Health (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania). Sales have increased more than 4-fold in the past 10 years, from less than $5 billion in 1998 to the current level.
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FTC Announces Expanded Business Education Campaign on 'Red Flags' Rule
To assist small businesses and other entities, the Federal Trade Commission staff will redouble its efforts to educate them about compliance with the 'Red Flags' Rule and ease compliance by providing additional resources and guideance to clarify whether businesses are covered by the Rule and what they must do to comply. To give creditors and financial institutions more time to review this guideance and develop and implement written Identity Theft Prevention Programs, the FTC will further delay enforcement of the Rule until November 1, 2009.
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Oral Chemotherapy Offers Patients a More Convenient, Less Invasive Treatment
Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey has new oral chemotherapy program in place
LOS ANGELES, July 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The increasing availability of oral chemotherapy for treating a variety of cancers--along with projections from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) that 25 percent of oncology drugs will be in oral form by 2013--raise questions for both clinicians and patients with regard to the benefits, risks and efficient management of oral chemotherapy. At Aptium Oncology's Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, many of those questions have already been answered.
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Price Match for ZED Customers
Thanks to Brandon Osborn for your continued efforts to bring the best pricing to SWON'ers. In June ZED customers received reduced pricing on the following:
Remember to submit all price match requests to Lesli Lord or Melissa Welch. |
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United Healthcare Policy Update
Unless otherwise indicated, the policy updates outlined below will be effective on August 14, 2009.
Policy Title: Chemosensitivity and Chemoresistance Assays in Cancer
Coverage Rationale: Chemoresistance assays (including Oncotech Extreme Drug Resistance (EDR®) Assay) and chemosensitivity assays (including ChemoFX® assay) are unproven for prediction of response to chemotherapy. Results of the available studies fail to provide convincing evidence that information obtained with chemoresistance and chemosensitivity testing is useful to treat cancer patients. Although numerous studies have been conducted, the evidence does not demonstrate that there is an improved survival among patients in whom chemosensitivity and chemoresistance assays were used to select chemotherapy regimens. Standards have not been established for the use of in vitro chemosensitivity or chemoresistant assays. Well-designed prospective, randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to determine the potential clinical role of assay-directed therapy and its impact on tumor response and patient survival.
To view the United Healthcare Bulletin, Click Here | |
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