scholarly journals PH Professional Network: The Burden of Prior Authorization for Pulmonary Hypertension Medications: A Practical Guide for Managing the Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 126-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Traci Housten ◽  
Anna M. Brown

Medications for pulmonary hypertension (PH) are expensive and often require prior authorization from insurance payers. The task of submitting prior authorization requests and appealing denials can burden PH practices with a heavy workload and delay or interrupt medical treatment. However, it is possible to reduce this burden, improve success rates, and reduce waiting times by implementing a standard office workflow for managing the prior authorization process. Such a system involves several key components: assessment of existing staff and level of expertise; dedicated office staff to oversee the process from start to finish; streamlined gathering, storage, and transmittal of patient documents; direct communication with pharmacies and Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy programs; and careful documentation of PH diagnosis and treatment plans for a given patient, aimed at reducing the necessity for appeals. This article reviews prior authorization strategies and systems used at PH clinics, and case studies in other therapeutic areas that demonstrate how such systems can reduce staff time and waiting time for initiation of medications while improving the rate of success. The article also describes the special challenges of requesting prior authorization for PH medications prescribed to pediatric patients.

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Destiny F. Chau ◽  
Meera Gangadharan ◽  
Lopa P. Hartke ◽  
Mark D. Twite

SLEEP ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. A290-A290
Author(s):  
A T Burns ◽  
S L Hansen ◽  
Z S Turner ◽  
A B Black ◽  
D P Hsu

1988 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 626-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Forrest Josey ◽  
Michael E. Glasscock ◽  
C. Gary Jackson

Preservation of hearing in patients with acoustic nerve tumors can be a goal when tumor size is small and residual hearing is intact. Overall success rates for preservation have been reported to be 20% to 40%. The overall success rate in this series is 30.7%. However, indicators of intact auditory brain stem response (waves I-III-V), good speech discrimination score, and intact acoustic (stapedial) reflex were associated with a 68.2% rate of success. Thus, a comprehensive audiologic evaluation is a guideline for selecting and counselling patients with acoustic tumors before hearing preservation procedures.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 881-886 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Drake

Abstract OBJECTIVE Reports from relatively small series of pediatric patients predominantly from single centers have hampered accurate analysis of outcome from endoscopic third ventriculostomy. We combined patients from nine pediatric neurosurgery centers across Canada to obtain a better estimate of outcome and identify factors affecting success of the procedure. METHODS Databases were recoded for uniformity. Failure of the procedure was defined as any subsequent operation or death resulting from hydrocephalus. Time to failure was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier estimate and Cox proportional hazard analysis. RESULTS During a 15-year period (1989–2004), 368 patients underwent the procedure. The average age was 6.5 years, and 57% were male. Aqueduct stenosis and tumors were the most common etiology, comprising 34 and 29%, respectively. Twenty-two percent of the patients had been previously shunted. The 1- and 5-year success rates were 65 and 52%, respectively. Factors included in the Cox model were age, sex, etiology of hydrocephalus, previous surgery, center volume, and surgeon volume. By multivariate analysis, only age had a significant effect on outcome, with younger patients failing at higher rates, particularly neonates and infants. CONCLUSION Based on data from multiple Canadian centers, age seems to be the primary determinant of outcome in endoscopic third ventriculostomy in pediatric patients. Failure rates are particularly high in neonates and young infants; thus, the role of this procedure in this age group should be carefully considered.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 271-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherrill J. Slichter ◽  
Esther Pellham ◽  
S. Lawrence Bailey ◽  
Todd Christoffel

Abstract Abstract 271 Background: The largest transfusion (tx) trial to evaluate methods of preventing platelet (plt) alloimmunization (TRAP Trial; NEJM 1997;337:1861) demonstrated residual alloimmunization rates of 17% to 21% in AML patients (pts) undergoing induction chemotherapy despite receiving either filter-leukoreduced (F-LR) or UV-B irradiated (UV-BI) blood products, respectively. Our pre-clinical dog plt tx studies, the basis for testing UV-BI in the TRAP Trial, demonstrated this model was able to predict pt results; i.e., prevention of alloimmunization was 45% in the dog but 79% in pts. The greater effectiveness in pts was probably because they had chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression compared to the immunocompetent dogs. Our current dog plt tx studies have focused on evaluating F-LR to remove antigen-presenting WBCs (APCs) or pathogen-reduction (PRT) (Mirasol treatment) to inactivate APCs. Methods: For pts, plts are obtained using either apheresis procedures or as plt concentrates prepared from whole blood (WB). To re-duplicate these types of plts in our dog model, we prepared plt-rich-plasma (PRP) from WB which would be equivalent to non-leukoreduced apheresis plts. The PRP was then either unmodified, F-LR, PRT, or the treatments were combined. Because the success rates were very poor with the single treatments of PRP (see table), the WB studies evaluated only combined F-LR and PRT treatments. In clinical practice, the treated WB would then be used to prepare a plt concentrate. The WB studies assessed either PRT of the WB followed by F-LR of PRP made from the WB or, conversely, F-LR of the WB using a plt-sparing filter (Terumo Immuflex WB-SP) followed by PRT of the WB and then preparation of PRP. After completion of all treatments, PRP from each study was centrifuged to prepare a plt concentrate, the plts were radiolabeled with 51Cr, injected into a recipient, and samples were drawn from the recipient to determine recovery and survival of the donor's (dnr's) plts. Dnr and recipient pairs were selected to be DLA-DRB incompatible and crossmatch-negative. Eight weekly dnr plt txs were given to the same recipient or until the recipient became refractory to the dnr's plts defined as ≤5% of the dnr's plts still circulating in the recipient at 24-hours post-tx following 2 sequential txs. Results: The table shows the percent of recipients who accepted 8 weeks of dnr plts and the total number of dnr plts and WBC injected. Using either filter, there was equal reduction in WBCs to 105/tx. Acceptance of unmodified dnr plts was 1/7 recipients (14%), PRT 1/8 recipients (13%), PL1-B filter 1/5 recipients (20%), and PLS-5A filter 4/6 recipients (66%). None of these differences were statistically significant. In contrast, combining F-LR of the PRP followed by PRT of the PRP was effective in 21/22 recipients (95%), regardless of the filter used. WB studies showed dnr plts were accepted by 2/5 recipients (40%) when WB was first treated with PRT followed by F-LR of the PRP made from the WB. Conversely, if the WB was first F-LR followed by PRT of the WB, 5/6 (83%) accepted dnr plts; more of these studies are in progress. Data are given as average ±1 S.D. Conclusions: F-LR of PRP or WB followed by PRT of the same PRP or WB is highly-effective in preventing alloimmune plt refractoriness in our dog plt tx model. These data suggest that most of the APCs must be removed by filtration before PRT can eliminate the activity of any residual APCs. Based on the high rate of success of this combined approach in our immunocompetent dog model, similar results should be achieved in pts even those who are not immunocompetent as were the AML pts receiving chemotherapy in the TRAP Trial. Disclosures: Slichter: Terumo BCT: Research Funding.


2014 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Lawrason Hughes ◽  
Nicole Murray ◽  
Tulio A. Valdez ◽  
Raeanne Kelly ◽  
Katherine Kavanagh

2011 ◽  
Vol 141 (3) ◽  
pp. 624-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Madani ◽  
Lara M. Wittine ◽  
William R. Auger ◽  
Peter F. Fedullo ◽  
Kim M. Kerr ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Johnson Kameny ◽  
Jeffrey Fineman ◽  
Ian Adatia

Perioperative management of patients with pulmonary hypertension or those at risk for increased pulmonary vascular reactivity should focus on supporting the patient through the vulnerable period of physiologic derangements surrounding surgery, including acute alterations in pulmonary blood flow, altered pulmonary endothelial function following cardiopulmonary bypass, invasive mechanical ventilation, and adaptation to new hemodynamics following correction or palliation of congenital heart disease lesions. These patients require careful attention to each step of perioperative management by teams experienced in the care of pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension. This article will focus on preoperative evaluation, pulmonary hypertensive crises, general principles of perioperative management, and specific pulmonary vasodilator therapies.


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