Page 22 - Volume13_Issue3
P. 22
Board Update
HOPA’s Seat “at the Table”
Sarah Scarpace Peters, PharmD MPH BCOP
HOPA President
S ummer is usually a slow time for HOPA as members, staff, HOPA
and elected leadership are away on vacation or working
extra to cover a colleague who is. This was certainly not the Hematology/Oncology
case for HOPA in summer 2016! New committee members were Pharmacy Association
selected and began their official 2016–2017 terms on June 1 and
already have met several times. This is the usual cadence of HOPA Medicare Part B reimbursement. Representatives from the
in the summer; however, this year, we were “at the table” for some Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and the Association of Communi-
new and very important external collaborations. ty Cancer Centers also were in attendance to show support for our
shared concerns.
Back in February, HOPA joined the Academy of Managed
Care Pharmacy’s Biologics and Biosimilars Collective Intelligence June kicked off with board members Susannah Koontz Webb
Consortium (BBCIC) (see www.bbcic.org for more information); and Heidi Finnes, Executive Director Suzanne Simons, and Direc-
Ed Li was appointed as HOPA’s Board Liaison. In May, the BBCIC tor of Professional Relations Julie Ichiba attending the American
requested that two additional HOPA members be appointed to Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting to meet with
serve on two research groups related to g-csf’s and ESAs. After ASCO and ONS leadership and continue to develop and expand
a call to the membership for volunteers, Gary Yee and Catherine HOPA’s collaborations with our industry partners. We appreciate
Weber were selected and have begun their work. In July, BBCIC former president Donald Harvey connecting us with ASCO’s Can-
sought two more members to serve on the Planning Committee cerLinq program and look forward to formalizing our role in that
and Scientific Committee, and after a review of the literature and project soon. We also are looking forward to a formal meeting with
a scan of member profiles and applicants from the first call for ASCO’s new CEO, Cliff Hudis, in late November to further identify
volunteers, two former HOPA presidents—Phil Johnson and Jim ways in which our organizations can work together.
Koeller—were asked to serve. The impact biosimilars have on the
routine practice of oncology pharmacy has been a frequent topic Did you see the July 14 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology?
of HOPA Central discussions, and HOPA is recognized by external Earlier this year, the Canadian Association of Pharmacy in Oncolo-
groups as a key stakeholder in the ongoing practice and policy gy (CAPhO) reached out to HOPA and the International Society of
issues related to biosimilars. Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) to co-author a letter to
the editor in response to an important omission in ASCO’s “intend-
HOPA also was represented at Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ed audience” for its updated chemo-induced nausea and vomiting
(CMS) Innovations meeting in May by HOPA Past President Scott (CINV) guideline–the oncology pharmacist! CAPhO, HOPA (Past
Soefje, who provided comments and expressed oncology phar- President Scott Soefje), and ISOPP (former HOPA president and
macists’ concerns regarding a new CMS-proposed rule regarding ISOPP President, Moe Schwartz), co-authored the response.
Our letter has been published (http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/
early/2016/07/14/JCO.2016.68.4746), and ASCO’s response will
be included in the next issue (http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/
early/2016/07/14/JCO.2016.68.6147).
22
