Behind the Science - Season 4

Throughout their career, doctors receive memorable gifts from patients – whether it be figurative or literal. Some also find that seeing patients receive benefits from their care is also a gift. In the spirit of the holidays, CURE® asked several health care providers about a special gift they’ve received from patients.

This edition of Behind the Science features five speakers at the Asembia’s 2021 Specialty Pharmacy Summit. The Asembia meeting is one of the largest devoted to specialty pharmacy — the branch of pharmacy services devoted to delivering and managing medications for complex conditions. The editors at Managed Healthcare Executive and the speakers at the Asembia meeting dived into a wide array of topics: telehealth and specialty pharmacy, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector, how social determinants of health need to be factored into pharmacy management decisions and the new, expensive drugs coming on the market.

A panel of experts answer the question: What is the biggest challenge facing rheumatologists today?

A panel of experts discuss how live microbiota treatments currently in development could transform care for CDI. One theme is that antibiotic use increases the risk of infections, meaning some non-antibiotic options need to emerge. The treatments are based off the success of fecal microbiota transplantation for C difficile.

After wrapping up the 37th annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, or ECTRIMS, a group of medical professionals from various backgrounds offered their insight into the overall themes and takeaways from the meeting, and their perspective on the greatest advancement the field has seen in 2021.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the emphasis and urgency was placed on treating the novel coronavirus. As a result, many important initiatives such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were put on hold. For example, studies have shown more antibiotics were prescribed during the first year of the pandemic. As the pandemic now begins to evolve into a new phase, clinicians can once again turn back again to the AMR issue. Clinicians offer insights into what medical community is doing right in this area where the challenges remain.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month and a good time to reflect on recent advancements in the treatment of patients with these difficult to treat tumors. Since pancreatic tumors rarely produce symptoms at earlier stages of the disease, patients typically present with disease that is in advanced stages when it is most difficult to control. Additionally, options for systemic therapies are limited. The editors at CancerNetwork® met with some thought leaders specializing in the treatment of pancreatic cancer to discuss recent research that has the potential to significantly impact care and ongoing trials that clinicians should be aware of.

On this episode of Behind the Science, we hear from retina specialists in ophthalmology about the range of worries or concerns that keep them awake at night.

This week, Psychiatric Times asked their contributors the following question: “Why don't we hear about the opioid crisis in America anymore? Did it go away during COVID?" Mental health professionals agree: the opioid crisis needs to be a priority.

As the pandemic laid bare disparities in social determinants of health and health equity, employers have been tasked with reforming health policies that historically overlooked preventive care and public health services. A panel of experts from Midwest Business Group on Health and Huron addressed how these organizations can better integrate preventive services in their health and benefit strategies, as well as address other care needs that grew in prominence amid COVID-19.

During the 2021 European Society of Medical Oncology Congress, multiple presentations took a closer look at toxicity to answer clinical questions of whether certain drugs lead to a high occurrence of key adverse events and how oncologists can take some inevitable toxicities into consideration when deciding on treatment for their patients.

A panel of infection preventionists were asked: Has the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges to infection preventionists regarding protecting patients from health care-acquired infections?

In this interview, we explore how the FDA box warning given to certain JAK inhibitors after study results on tofacitinib were released. We talked to multiple dermatologists about their thoughts on this warning. We wanted to know how this will affect the drug pipeline, and how dermatologists should explain the situation to their patients.

Experts in the oncology community discusses disparities in cancer care.

Lisa Faast, CEO of DiversityRx, offers her marketing expertise to discuss easy, actionable, and effective ways that pharmacies can leverage Halloween to boost visibility and engage customers. Jane Nicholson, owner of Mahaska Drug, discusses the impressive Halloween events that her community pharmacy is hosting this year. Joe Moose, owner of Moose Pharmacy, talks about how his staff get into the Halloween spirit and the importance of pharmacies engaging with their surrounding communities. Nancy Brace highlights the Halloween-themed events at Medicap Pharmacy and the uplifting feedback from patients.

Seven urologists share their favorite scary movies and tv shows with the Urology Times. From the recent "Squid Game" Netflix series to the classic "Exorcist" film, their reflections bring some spooky energy just in time for Halloween.

With the Halloween season in full swing, there could very well be ghosts wandering the halls of hospitals and research facilities… this week, CURE® asked several oncologists and researchers in the field that if given the chance to meet one “ghost of the past” in the field of oncology research, who would it be and why? Follow along to see who they’d choose to meet and why that individual’s work inspires them.

In this segment, clinicians practicing in cardiology offer their perspective on how to best identify and avoid clinical inertia in their own practices.