The MOASC Annual Oncology Summit, held on March 27, presented nationally recognized speakers from City of Hope, UCLA and UCSD discussing current management strategies and exciting advances in Breast cancer, Colorectal cancer, Kidney cancer, Lung cancer, Lymphoma and Management of Toxicity from Immunotherapy. The program recording is available until April 27 through the link below using password: moasc2021. Please email moasc@moasc.org for copies of slides.

The MOASC LunchTime Series, held on March 30, presented Talking to Patients About COVID-19 Vaccines: Building Confidence, with Michael Dutro, PharmD, Vaccines Medical Director, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Pfizer Biopharma. The recording is available until April 30 by clicking the link below, use passcode: K&!&sA.9. If you have any questions, please email moasc@moasc.org   

MOASC encourages members to self-nominate or recommend a colleague for one or more of the various leadership and committee service roles. All MOASC physicians and clinicians are asked to submit nominations each year. Nominations received are compiled and reviewed by the Nominating Committee, which then makes its recommendations for elected and appointed positions. 

If so, contact MOASC at moasc@moasc.org and let us know of your interest. MOASC will give a 50% discount to the first two applicants. 

The purpose of the CMOM certification is to enhance the knowledge base of practice leaders through exceptional education. Now you can further demonstrate your advanced skillset by obtaining a certification designed exclusively for you. Hone your skills in your chosen field with CMOM-HEM/ONC certification, created to prepare experienced leaders for greater success in oncology practice management. The sessions are all virtual now and candidates can go at their own pace to complete. For more info, visit https://www.pmimd.com/onlinetraining/productpage/index.php?prodID=261

MOASC Programs - Save the Dates - All Times are Pacific

TOMORROW, Wednesday, April 7, 10:00am – 11:30am, attend a free telephone/web presentation on Advances in Treatment for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). MOASC Member, Tanya Siddiqi, MD, Associate Clinical Professor, Director, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program, Department of Hematology & HCT, City of Hope Medical Center will discuss: Current and emerging therapies for CLL; Managing side effects to promote a better quality of life; Impact of COVID-19 on CLL treatment decisions and more. Register online or by phone (855) 922-1531. 

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 at 5:30pm attend the webinar, Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma presented by MOASC Member, Edward F McClay, M.D., Oncologist Director, cCare. To register email Page Soapes at page.soapes@bms.com or call 1-866-326-7600. Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Thursday, April 29 at 5:30pm, MOASC members are encouraged to attend the webinar, Applying Clinical Evidence to Practice: DOPTELET® (avatrombopag) for Adult Patients with Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) Who Have Had an Insufficient Response to a Previous Treatment, presented by Zahra Pakbaz, M.D. To register email Jolie Williams at jolie.williams@dova.com or call 310-339-9221 by April 26, 2021. Sponsored by DOVA Pharmaceuticals. 

Saturday, May 15, MOASC is partnering with Dr Neil Love and his CME organization, Research To Practice (RTP), for a daylong, live educational event. Similar in format to RTP’s Year in Review live series, the virtual webinar will follow a multi-tumor approach with 14 expert clinical investigators reviewing current management strategies and recent advances in breast cancer, AML/MDS, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphomas, gastrointestinal cancers, genitourinary cancers, lung cancer and multiple myeloma. In lieu of traditional didactic lectures, the participating clinical investigator panelists will review recent data as well as review cases provided by MOASC clinicians.

In preparation for this event, Dr. Love and RTP would like to invite MOASC community oncologists to participate in a case-based recorded 60-minute Zoom interview with Dr. Love, which will be utilized during the live activity. There is an honorarium for your time.

If your practice is looking to hire prominent Oncologist-Hematologist locally trained in Southern California, MOASC has a database of potential candidates available. If interested, please email moasc@moasc.org

Office Manager needed for a solo medical oncology practice in the Pasadena Area. Experienced professionals may email your resume to Dr. Cynthia Martel at cynthiamartel@sbcglobal.net.

The California Dialogue on Cancer had an All Members meeting on March 25, 2021. Below are links to the meeting recordings and the ACS presentation, "Return to Screening."

All Californians ages 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine starting April 15. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state would do away with its vaccine eligibility tiers earlier than anticipated. People 50 and older will get a head start, with vaccines opening to them April 1, state officials said. 

April 13, an Incident To webinar will be presented on Overview and Coverage, Substitute Billing, Incident to Criteria, Supervision Criteria, Split/Shared Services, Resources and other noteworthy information.

April 14, Part B Ask the Contractor Teleconference (ACT) will include: Appeals, Claims Processing, Electronic Data Interchange Support Services (EDISS), Medical Review (MR), Provider Contact Center (PCC), Provider Enrollment, Provider Outreach and Education (POE), and System Support. Noridian representatives from various departments will be available to address your questions.

May 12, Differences Between Sole Proprietor and Sole Owner webinar will be presented. This event includes: Provider Enrollment, Sole Owner Enrolling in Medicare - Part B, Sole Proprietor Enrolling in Medicare - Part B 

Temporary Claims Hold Pending Congressional Action to Extend 2% Sequester Reduction

CMS posted the increased payment rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration and added Janssen vaccine codes.  

Only 278 (26%) of the 1,088 DSH 340B hospitals have fully complied with the new 2021 HHS regulation on pricing disclosure. The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) conducted an analysis of these DSH 340B hospitals and their compliance, following is the breakdown:

The April 2021 UnitedHealthcare Network Bulletin has been published. Click below to review all the updates. 

Thursday, April 15 at 12pm, ANCO, in collaboration with Noridian, will be hosting a 1 hour webinar on Medicare in 2021: E&M Office Changes, Telehealth Status and Other Changes.

May 15, ANCO's three part series of Hematologic Malignancies Updates: Leukemias, Lymphomas, & Myelomas, will kick off online. Faculty will present the latest research on treatment modalities for hematologic malignancies—leukemias, lymphomas, and myeloma—along with case studies for these diagnoses.

The 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, is on December 11-14, 2021 in Atlanta and virtual. ASH is committed to providing its members and meeting attendees with the most rewarding and satisfying experience each year. While the Society is currently planning for both a virtual and in-person component to the meeting, they continue to monitor the feasibility of meeting in person. ASH would like to know your opinion so they can provide the optimal educational experience for all attendees, speakers, and exhibitors.

April 28 at 8:59pm PT is the deadline for early registration to the ASCO virtual Annual Meeting, June 4-8. For the best rates, register now!

This Thursday & Friday, April 8 & 9, do not miss the 2021 Community Oncology Conference! See community oncology from a new perspective. This year’s, free, virtual-conference is so much more than just best-in-class educational programs. Not only does the Conference offer unmatched opportunities to hear from key players in the field of oncology, but more importantly, the content is focused on the needs of independent, community oncology practices. Learn about social determinants of health and how other practices are incorporating this data into their workflow. Economics greatly affect how care is provided and successful patient outcomes. Get a deeper understanding of how oncology care can address the community’s needs. There’s something for every member of community oncology, so bring a large contingent from your practice!

April 8, Agios Pharmacuticals presents three Virtual Disease Awareness webinars on Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency: An Under recognized Cause of Chronic Hemolytic Anemia.

Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the FDA has approved Abecma as the first B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma after four or more prior lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. Abecma is a personalized immune cell therapy approved as a one-time infusion with a recommended dose range of 300 to 460 x 106 CAR-positive T cells. As an anti-BCMA CAR T cell therapy, Abecma recognizes and binds to BCMA, a protein that is nearly universally expressed on cancer cells in multiple myeloma, leading to the death of BCMA-expressing cells.

Sanofi-Genzyme announced that SARCLISA® (isatuximab-irfc) is now approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received 1 to 3 prior lines of therapy, in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone.

April 13 and 14, Oncopeptides cordially invites MOASC members to their upcoming live broadcast of a newly approved therapy for adult patients with Multiple Myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy and triple-class refractory. Discussions will feature Dr. Joseph Mikhael and Dr. Joshua Richter.

April 13, 15, 22 and 28, Incyte Corporation invites your patients to attend any four of their live webinars about myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). These disease education virtual talks are geared for patients diagnosed with a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN), including: Polycythemia vera, Essential thrombocythemia, Myelofibrosis. The program on 4/28 includes a nutrition talk and MPN. Hear from an Incyte Oncology Clinical Nurse Educator about MPNs, learn and ask questions about your condition. You will receive a workbook of the presentation in the mail to help you organize your thoughts. When you register, Incyte will send you a kit with a workbook, educational resources, and accessories to help raise awareness about MPNs. Have questions or want to register? Register today through any of the below most convenient for you. info@mpnpatientevent.com; MPNpatientevent.com; MPNwebinars.com or dial 919-256-2479.

Immunomedics cordially invites you to listen to Hope S. Rugo, M.D., and learn more about TRODELVY. TRODELVY (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy) is indicated for the treatment of adults with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and duration of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. 

The Medical Oncology Association of Southern California (MOASC) is a leading oncology society that advances and protects the ability of cancer patients to obtain, and the ability of the oncology physicians to provide, optimal cancer care. The material contained in the California Oncology Weekly is intended as general information for MOASC members. Because diagnostic, treatment, contracting, coding, and billing decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, any such information contained in the California Oncology Weekly may not apply in any given situation. Members are encouraged to contact their own consultants or advisors to obtain specific advice on matters relating to contracting, coding, and billing. The information contained in California Oncology Weekly should not be used as a substitute for such advice. This publication provides a summary of regulations affecting oncology and its business practices. Reading this newsletter does not substitute for understanding regulations and verifying the validity of every claim. This information is time-sensitive and is subject to change. MOASC accepts no liability for any statements or articles herein. CPT codes are owned and trademarked by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.