Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Ophthalmology, Pharmacology / 06.10.2016
Payments to Ophthalmologists for Anti-VEGF Agents
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Aleksandra Rachitskaya, MD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Retina Service, Department of Ophthalmology
Cole Eye Institute
Cleveland, OH 44195
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Open Payments database lists payment records from drug and device manufacturers to physicians. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents such as ranibizumab (Lucentis®, Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA), aflibercept (Eylea™, Regeneron, Tarrytown, NY) and off-label bevacizumab (Avastin®, Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA) are used for a variety of indications in ophthalmology.
The current study examined the payments made to ophthalmologists related to ranibizumab and aflibercept and correlated those payments to provider usage of these medications. The former was achieved by utilizing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Provider Utilization and Payment database.
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