Virtual Journal Club: Best Practices in Payer Coverage and Utilization Management of Anti-VEGF Therapies for AMD and DR/DME

Release Date: July 1, 2025
Expiration Date: January 31, 2027
Estimated Time to Complete Activity: 1.0 hour
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Expert Faculty Presenters


	Molly Beinfeld, MPH Project Director SPEC Database Click here for biography

	James D. Chambers, PhD, MPharm Director, SPEC Database Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine Click here for biography

	Jeffrey D. Dunn, PharmD, MBA President and CEO Cooperative Benefits Group (CBG) Click here for biography

	Jordan M. Graff, MD, FACS Surgeon & Partner, BDP Eye Center at American Vision Partners (AVP) Chair, Division of Ophthalmology, Creighton University Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Arizona, Phoenix Click here for biography

Target Audience

This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of managed care pharmacy directors, registered nurses, clinical pharmacists, quality directors and medical directors.

Statement of Need/Program Overview

Managed care professionals are tasked with staying up-to-date on multiple disease states to improve care management for a large and diverse patient populations. Therefore, managed care professionals can benefit from timely educational opportunities that focus on the latest clinical publications with payer implications through peer-to-peer discussion to stay informed. Commercial health plans have variable coverage criteria and step therapy protocols for anti-VEGF therapies in the management of AMD and DR/DME that are more restrictive than the FDA-labeled indications. These management strategies can increase administrative burden and delay treatment initiation, which may have adverse consequences for preserving patients’ vision. Better alignment of payer coverage policies with published evidence for anti-VEGF agents may support more timely access to care in retinal diseases.

Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

Characterize pharmacologic treatment options for AMD and DR/DME in terms of efficacy, safety, and dosing intervals
Evaluate medical and pharmacy benefit design strategies that facilitate appropriate evidence-based treatment for AMD and DR/DME
Outline collaborative payer/provider initiatives to improve the treatment of AMD and DR/DME

Accreditation Information

Joint Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Medical Education Resources (MER) and Impact Education, LLC. MER is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Continuing Nursing Credit
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 ANCC nursing contact hour. Nurses will be awarded contact hours upon successful completion of the activity.

Medical Education Resources is a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP 12299, for 1.0 contact hour.

Continuing Pharmacy Education
Medical Education Resources designates this continuing education activity for 1.0 contact hour(s) (0.10 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

UAN: JA0003680-9999-25-130-H01-P
Activity Type: Knowledge-based

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships
Medical Education Resources ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational activities. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies all relevant financial relationships with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Reported relevant financial relationships are mitigated by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CE activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. MER is committed to providing learners with high-quality CE activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of an ineligible company.

The authors reported the following financial relationships with ineligible companies whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:

*Name of Working Group Members/Planners*	*Reported Financial Relationship*
Molly Beinfeld, MPH	No financial relationships to disclose.
James D. Chambers, PhD, MPharm	No financial relationships to disclose.
Jeffrey D. Dunn, PharmD, MBA	No financial relationships to disclose.
Jordan M. Graff, MD, FACS	Grants/Research Support: 4DMT, Adverum, Kyowa Kirin, Ocular Therapeutix, Ollin Biosciences, Regeneron, RegenxBio, Roche/Genentech Consulting Fees (eg. Ad boards): Alimera, Apellis, Hi-Health, IvericBio, Ocular Theapeutix, RegenxBio, Regeneron, Roche/Genentech Speakers’ Bureau: Ocular Therapeutix, Roche/Genentech

The content managers reported the following financial relationships with ineligible companies whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:

*Name of Content Managers*	*Reported Financial Relationship*
Impact Education, LLC.	No financial relationships to disclose
Planners at Medical Education Resources	No financial relationships to disclose

DISCLOSURE OF UNLABELED USE
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

DISCLAIMER
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources, Impact Education, LLC, and/or Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

FEE INFORMATION
There is no fee for this activity.