If your practice or cancer center receives, handles, stores, compounds, dispenses, administers, or disposes of hazardous drugs, you may soon be affected by the US Pharmacopeial Convention’s General Chapter 800 Hazardous Drugs—Handling in Healthcare Settings (USP 800). It will affect different practices in different ways, depending on how it is enforced as well as the agency or organization that may choose to enforce it. Read More ›

According to a recent study, 63.6% of oncologists surveyed favor the establishment of an independent panel of health experts to decide which treatments Medicare will pay for based on a cost-benefit analysis. Less than 50% of patients and members of the general public think this is a good idea. The United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is one model for such a panel. Read More ›

Three of the main factors currently influencing patient support services are population health management, patient engagement, and shifting perspectives in biopharma, Tracy Foster told a roomful of attendees recently at the 2015 Patient Assistance & Access Programs meeting held in Baltimore, MD. Read More ›

Recently retired and looking back over my decades in the workforce, I see gender issues once again gaining strength. I was raised to believe there were no gender barriers or limitations, and most of what I have seen in my youth and working years has supported that. Yet significant events stand in stark contrast, leaving an indelible mark in my mind and a subtle reminder of a different era. Read More ›

It is a fact of life. The current tax system rewards taxpayers who are aggressive with their deductions. To find out what people are deducting, we undertook an informal survey of many of our colleagues who are certified public accountants. We found that a handful of deductions show up repeatedly on the tax returns of those taxpayers who tend to be very aggressive with their deductions. How aggressive are you with the deductions you claim on your income tax return each year? Below we discuss some of the more common deductions we have found. Read More ›

On April 14, 2015, after years of uncertainty and 17 short-term “doc fix” patches to prevent severe annual cuts to physician reimbursement payments, Congress approved the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), bringing an end to the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR). This bipartisan, bicameral compromise will provide physicians with the predictability in payments needed to continue to provide high-quality cancer care, while transitioning over a 10-year period to a new Medicare reimbursement system. Read More ›

The following clinical trials are currently recruiting patients with multiple myeloma for inclusion in several investigations. Each trial description includes the NLM Identifier to use as a reference with ClinicalTrials.gov. Read More ›