Show Notes
Subscribe through iTunes and Google Play. Welcome to this ASCO in Action podcast. This is ASCO's podcast series where we explore policy and practice issues that impact oncologists, the entire cancer care delivery team, and most importantly, the patients we care for, people with cancer. My name is Cliff Hudis. And I'm the CEO of ASCO, as well as the host of this ASCO in Action podcast series.
For today's podcast, we're going to do something a little different. We don't have a guest today. Instead, we're going to spend some time going over a quick update on an important clarification issued recently by the CDC, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and specifically, their guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, a very topical issue.
The clarification they issued was the form of a letter from the agency to ASCO, as well as to ASH and the NCCN. And in this letter, the clarification affirmed that the CDC guideline was never intended to deny access to clinically appropriate opioid therapy for patients suffering with acute or chronic pain from conditions like cancer and sickle cell disease.
But I want to explain first why it was important that they issue this clarification and then talk about what we have to do next. Opioid abuse in the United States is clearly a very serious issue. And the tremendous toll that it's been extracting on individuals and families across the nation is well-reported. Indeed, it was one of the reasons originally given for the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act. In fact, one of the motivations had to do with addressing some parts of the opioid crisis.
And so this just makes the point that finding a solution to the problem is among the very highest priorities that government and really the general public, as well as professional societies and advocacy groups and all stakeholders, have to be working towards. However, we do have to, at the same time, be careful that we don't overreach and cause additional harm, especially to vulnerable populations, as we take steps to reduce opioid abuse. What happened before was that there was a misinterpretation of the opioid prescribing recommendations that had been issued by the CDC.
And this resulted in part in new laws and regulations, as well as third-party payment policies that severely limited essential pain medications from patients with cancer and sickle cell disease. The consequence for them was suffering and even more prolonged hospitalizations and health care expenses.
So the challenge here was to fix this mistake. As we talk about how this happened, I want to take a moment and provide a little bit of background on this. Last spring, about a year ago I think, there were papers published, at least one in particular, that highlighted seeming discrepancies-- and I emphasize the word seeming-- between opioid use guidelines that had been issued by the CDC, the NCCN, ASCO, and others.
To their credit, the NCCN, led by Bob Carlson, responded to this by reaching out to us at ASCO and asking if we would be willing to collaborate on a meeting of the minds to identify what was true and not true in terms of those supposedly conflicting guidelines and then issue some sort of a unified statement to help address the situation.
In November of 2018, hosted here at ASCO headquarters, representatives from ASCO, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network or NCCN, the American Society of Hematology, ASH, and the CDC met to discuss the similarities, as well as the differences, among our various published respective guidelines in the area of managing chronic pain. We also discussed how to more clearly communicate to all of our respective memberships how and when practice guidelines should be applied in patient care.
While discussing the CDC guideline, it became very clear to all of us that it was necessary to issue at some point a clarification on the question of where the CDC guideline applied to patients with cancer and sickle cell. And inde
More from ASCO in Action Podcast
Retiring ASCO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard L Schilsky gives a far-reaching interview with ASCO in Action podcast host ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford A. Hudis, who examines Dr. Schilsky's trailblazing medical career, his leadership in ASCO and indelible mark on its research enterprise, and what he sees for the future of oncology. ASCO's first-ever Chief Medical Officer even offers some friendly advice for Dr Julie Gralow, who starts as ASCO's next CMO on February 15, 2021. In a touching tribute, Dr. Hudis also shares what Dr. Schilsky's friendship and mentorship has meant to him personally, and suggests that Rich will still be supporting ASCO on critical priorities moving forward. Don't miss this exchange with one of oncology's greats! Transcript DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform. This is not a substitute for professional medical care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests on this podcast express their own opinions, experience, and conclusions. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity, or therapy should not be construed as an ASCO endorsement.
In the latest ASCO in Action podcast, ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford A. Hudis shares a quick preview of what's to come for the 2020 ASCO Advocacy Summit and Week of Action, which will take place September 14-18. Typically, ASCO volunteers from across the country gather in Washington, D.C. to advocate for policies that will improve access to high-quality, equitable care for people with cancer and ensure robust funding for cancer research through in-person meetings with their Members of Congress. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 ASCO Advocacy Summit will be a virtual event, but participants can expect the same important advocacy and education opportunities that the event provides every year. All ASCO members are encouraged to participate in the Congressional Week of Action by signing up with the ACT Network (through the Advocacy Center on ASCO.org). Subscribe to the ASCO in Action podcast through iTunes and Google Play.
ASCO President Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, joins ASCO CEO Dr. Clifford A. Hudis in the latest ASCO in Action podcast to discuss how her childhood inspired her to become an oncologist and how the theme of her presidential year, "Equity: Every Patient. Every Day. Everywhere." is more important than ever as the country responds to a healthcare pandemic that is disproportionately impacting people of color. "Every patient, no matter who they are, deserves high-quality care and every patient has the right to equitable care," says Dr. Pierce. "We have to get to the root causes to understand the barriers that patients face if we're going to really make a difference, so it's important to me that equity be front and center of everything that we do." Subscribe to the ASCO in Action podcast through iTunes and Google Play.
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) CEO Dr. Clifford A. Hudis is joined by Dr. Piyush Srivastava, the past chair of ASCO's Clinical Practice Committee, in the newest ASCO in Action Podcast to discuss the recently released ASCO Special Report: A Guide to Cancer Care Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Dr. Srivastava was instrumental in developing the report, which provides detailed guidance to oncology practices on the immediate and short-term steps that should be taken to protect the safety of patients and healthcare staff before resuming more routine care operations during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Subscribe to the ASCO in Action podcast through iTunes and Google Play.
In the latest ASCO in Action Podcast, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) CEO Dr. Clifford A. Hudis is joined by Dr. Jonathan Marron, incoming Chair of ASCO's Ethics Committee and a lead author of the new Ethics and Resource Scarcity: ASCO Recommendations for the Oncology Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic.