EP296: Oncology FAQs About Telehealth, Standardizing Care, and Drug Prices, With Vincent Rajkumar, MD, of Mayo Clinic, Rochester

My guest in this health care podcast is Vincent Rajkumar, MD. Dr. Rajkumar is a professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He’s also a practicing hematologist at the Mayo Clinic with a focus on multiple myeloma. Dr. Rajkumar does research and conducts clinical trials. He’s a well-known thought leader in questions about the cost of drugs in this country versus other countries.

So, let me tell you what happened with this episode: I mentioned to a few people I would be speaking with Dr. Rajkumar, and every single person I mentioned it to sent me questions to ask him. So, that happened. I wound up with way too many questions; thus, I spent my Thursday evening organizing said questions into some semblance of a logical order.

In this health care podcast, we talk about telehealth in oncology. We talk about standardizing treatment pathways in oncology amidst the growing complexity of said treatments and how this could potentially help community oncologists and generalists. We wrap things up with Dr. Rajkumar’s insights on the high price of oncology and other drugs.

You can learn more by reading Dr. Rajkumar’s papers about the high cost of insulin, the high cost of prescription drugs, and cost-effective therapy of multiple myeloma.   You can also watch his presentation on the high cost of prescription drugs. 

S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, is the editor in chief of Blood Cancer Journal and the Edward W. and Betty Knight Scripps Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. His academic career was profiled by The Lancet (November 26, 2011). He is co-chair of the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) and chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) myeloma committee. He also serves as the associate editor for Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Leukemia, and European Journal of Hematology. Dr. Rajkumar has received several awards, including the Giants of Cancer Care Award (2019) from OncLive and the Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor given by the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). He has also received the Relentless for a Cure Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2010), the John Ultmann Lecture and Award (2011), and the Janet Davison Rowley Patient Impact Research Award from Cures Within Reach Foundation (2015). He was named Mayo Clinic Distinguished Investigator in 2018. He serves on the board of directors for the IMF and is a member of the National Institutes of Health’s Multiple Myeloma Steering Committee. Dr. Rajkumar has over 600 publications, including over 350 peer-reviewed original research papers and over 200 reviews and book chapters.

01:45 What is the perspective on telehealth and its impact on oncology? 03:50 “Cancer has become extraordinarily complex.” 05:32 Is it possible to still have community oncologists in the advent of technology? 08:39 What’s the viability for flat-fee reimbursement in oncology? 14:31 “The pathways should be designed and developed by people who don’t have a financial stake [or] conflict.” 18:34 “Part of the problem for physicians is, you want to deliver the best care.” 21:23 “There are no allies in this fight for lower prescription drug costs.” 23:18 “This is not like a television or a car where you can say you can live without it.” 24:33 “It’s absolutely not a free market.” 25:35 “Each drug is a monopoly.” 30:22 “When you do value-based pricing, you’re not putting a price on anybody’s life. You’re only putting a price on what [a] drug is worth.”

You can learn more by reading Dr. Rajkumar’s papers about the high cost of insulin, the high cost of prescription drugs, and cost-effective therapy of multiple myeloma.   You can also watch his presentation on the high cost of prescription drugs. 

@VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

What is the perspective on telehealth and its impact on oncology? @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“Cancer has become extraordinarily complex.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

Is it possible to still have community oncologists in the advent of technology? @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“The pathways should be designed and developed by people who don’t have a financial stake [or] conflict.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“Part of the problem for physicians is, you want to deliver the best care.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“There are no allies in this fight for lower prescription drug costs.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“It’s absolutely not a free market.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech

“Each drug is a monopoly.” @VincentRK of @MayoMyeloma discusses #oncology #FAQs on this week’s #healthcarepodcast. #healthcare #digitalhealth #healthtech