UP FRONT
ASH Directions
CDC Clarifies Opioid Prescribing Guideline at Urging of
Hematology and Oncology Groups
Hematologists, especially sickle cell disease (SCD)
specialists, are welcoming a recent clarification from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) to the agency’s guideline for prescribing opi-
oids to manage pain from certain conditions.
ASH, in partnership with the American Society of
Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Com-
prehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), urged the CDC
to clarify the guideline to ensure safe and appropriate
access to opioids for patients with cancer and SCD. In
a November 2018 in-person meeting with CDC repre-
sentatives and a subsequent jointly signed letter, ASH,
ASCO, and NCCN pointed to inappropriate use of the
guideline by insurance companies to make coverage
determinations for these patient populations.
“People with sickle cell disease suffer from severe
chronic pain, which is debilitating on its own without
the added burden of having to constantly appeal to
the insurance companies every time a pain crisis hits
and the initial request is denied,” explained 2019 ASH
President Roy Silverstein, MD.
In its clarification letter, the CDC notes that the
guideline was intended to provide recommendations
for primary care clinicians who prescribe opioids for
patients with chronic pain outside of active cancer
treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
Further, it affirms that the guideline is not intended
to deny clinically appropriate opioid therapy to any
patients who experience acute or chronic pain from
conditions such as cancer and SCD.
“We appreciate CDC’s acknowledgment that the
challenges of managing severe and chronic pain in
conditions such as SCD require special consider-
ation, and we hope payers will take the CDC’s clari-
fication into account to ensure that patients’ pain
management needs are covered,” said Dr. Silverstein.
ASH plans to publish evidence-based guidelines
on the management of pain in sickle cell disease
this fall. For more information, visit hematology.org/
guidelines.
Coming Soon: 7th edition of the ASH Self-Assessment Program!
A new and improved 7th edition of the
ASH Self-Assessment Program (ASH-SAP)
– the Society’s comprehensive educational
resource on the latest advances in malig-
nant and classical hematology – will soon
be available for trainees studying for board
exams and other hematology practitioners
who want to stay up-to-date.
ASH Clinical News spoke with Adam
Cuker, MD, assistant professor of medi-
cine at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Perelman
School of Medicine, to
learn about the new edition
and his experience as its
senior executive editor.
How did you approach your role as senior
executive editor for the 7th edition of the
ASH-SAP?
My goals were threefold. First, I wanted
ASH-SAP 7 to be current and cutting
edge. There have been a lot of advances
in hematology since the previous edition
was published, so some fairly extensive
updating was required. Second, I wanted
ASH-SAP 7 to be the premier resource in
hematology for preparation for the board
and recertification exams. To this end, we
added hundreds of new questions to the
Q&A portion of the book. Third, I wanted
ASH-SAP 7 to work for different learning
styles. For those who learn best by reading,
there is still plenty of traditional text. But
to cater to visual and auditory learners,
we also greatly expanded and augmented
the multimedia elements in the book to
include vivid visual imagery and catchy,
incisive scripts.
There’s a lot of new content for
the 7th edition. What do you think
hematologists will be most excited
about?
To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, “Hematol-
ogy moves pretty fast. If you don’t update
your content, you could miss it.” In this
spirit, we extensively updated all topics
in the book. We also included brand
new content on hot topics like immuno-
therapy and checkpoint inhibitors as well
as the biology and clinical application
of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. We
augmented the new content with new
multiple-choice questions and multi-
media elements.
Taking your editor hat off, tell us about
your experience as a user of the ASH-SAP.
ASH-SAP is near and dear to my heart
because it was the primary resource
I used to prepare for the hematology
boards 10 years ago. Since then, it’s been
extensively updated and remains the pre-
mier resource in hematology for board
preparation. Now that I’m 10 years out, I
plan to use ASH-SAP 7 for another one
of its key purposes – as a resource for
preparing for the recertification exam.
And along the way, I’ve consulted the
ASH-SAP on innumerable occasions as a
means of topic review.
ASH-SAP
American Society of Hematology
Self-Assessment Program
Textbook
Seventh Edition
ash-sap.org
New multimedia enhancements for key topics
The 7th edition of the ASH-SAP will
be available May 30. Successful comple-
tion of the evaluation component enables
participants to earn up to 75 Mainte-
nance of Certification (MOC) points
from the American Board of Internal
Medicine MOC program. Learn more at
www.ash-sap.org.
A Year of Growth: The 2018 ASH Annual Report
The American Society of Hematology’s 2018 Annual Report is now available
online.
Last year, the Society took the lead on a number of initiatives to better
serve its members and the hematology community at large, including the
successful signing of the Sickle Cell Treatment Act; the publication of the ASH
ASHClinicalNews.org
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Venous Thromboembolism; and the establish-
ment of the ASH Research Collaborative, a mission-focused nonprofit organi-
zation that will foster collaborative partnerships, at the core of which lies its
Data Hub, a technology platform that facilitates the exchange of information.
Find the report at annual-report.hematology.org. ●
ASH Clinical News
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