When practices submit price matches all SWON members benefit! Thanks to the watchful eyes of our members, SWON participating practices are driving down drug costs.
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Lord of the Files
Visit the official blog for guests and subscribers of the Oncology Manager's Briefcase.
Click Here
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| Contact Us
| Melissa Welch
Southwest Oncology Network
6921 Shoreview Drive
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Keep your Membership Current
If there are changes to your phone number, physical address, primary contact etc. or if your practice merges with another organization, please be sure to notify SWON.
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As 2010 comes to a close, we at SWON would like to thank you for allowing us to serve you during the past year. It has been a tumultuous year for the oncology industry and we are proud to say that SWON has maintained strong membership and continues to provide value in all we do for our members.
In our fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 SWON provided more than $229,000 in rebates to our members. Reports detailing fiscal year rebates will be mailed to each practice within the next 30 days.
The current fiscal year is off to a strong start as well, with rebates totaling $58,515 paid to members in Q3 2010.
If you have suggestions on additional services that SWON might provide to our members, please let us know. We look forward to another successful year!
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President signs SGR Fix Bill
WASHINGTON -- President Obama signed into law a bill that shelved the scheduled 25% cut in Medicare payment rates and guarantees physicians a stable Medicare reimbursement through 2011.
Congress passed the $15 billion bill last week.
The one-year fix is the fifth and longest extension of Medicare physician payment rates passed by Congress this year. And it essentially puts doctors back in the yearly "last-minute-extension" cycle Congress has followed for most of the past decade.
The American Medical Association (AMA) which has been advocating for a year-long fix, celebrated the president signing the bill.
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Amgen: Good Drug Results, But 'Lack of Survival Benefit'
Solid news on Amgen's bone drug Xgeva has the stock up about 4.3% premarket. Amgen reported that its bone drug helped delay the spread of prostate cancer to bone by 4.2 months in key late-stage data tha may open up a new use for the potential blockbuster drug.
The data is important for the Thousand Oaks, Calif., biotech giant which has faced numerous pressures to its business in recent years from rising competition and regulatory issues related to its aging suite of drugs. The company is looking for the drug's various uses to invigorate its profit growth.
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F.D.A. Rejects Use of Drug in Cases of Breast Cancer
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The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday moved to revoke the approval of the widely used drug Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer, saying that new studies did not confirm that the medicine was helping patients.
The decision is causing anguish for some women who worry they may no longer have access to a drug they believe is helping to keep them alive. But some patient advocacy groups welcomed the decision, saying Avastin had never been shown to prolong lives and that women with breast cancer need more than false hope.
"I understand that today's recommendation from the F.D.A. is disappointing for patients with breast cancer," Dr. Richard Pazdur, head of the agency's cancer drug division told reporters in a conference call. "Please note that these findings are also disappointing for the F.D.A. as well."
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Suggested Reading
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Dangerous Doses
By Katherine Eban
(as described on amazon.com)
In the tradition of the great investigative classics, Dangerous Doses exposes the dark side of America's pharmaceutical trade. Stolen,
compromised, and counterfeit medicine increasingly makes its way into a poorly regulated distribution system-where it may reach unsuspecting patients who stake their lives on its effectiveness.
Katherine Eban's hard-hitting exploration of America's secret ring of drug counterfeiters takes us to Florida, where tireless investigators follow the trail of medicine stolen in a seemingly minor break-in as it funnels into a sprawling national network of drug polluters. Their pursuit stretches from a strip joint in South Miami to the halls of Congress as they battle entrenched political interests and uncover an increasing threat to America's health.
With the conscience of a crusading reporter, Eban has crafted a riveting narrative that shows how, when we most need protection, we may be most at risk.
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