Barriers and Access to Transplant Care for Sickle Cell Patients

This webinar was held in honor of Sickle Cell Awareness month, and delves into crucial topics related to patients with sickle cell disease and transplant:

• Challenges in Finding Stem Cell Sources: Clinicians and patient speakers discuss the obstacles faced by both physicians and patients throughout the process.
• Socioeconomic Barriers: Explore the impact of socioeconomic factors on sickle cell care.
• Physicians’ Attitudes and Practices: Understand how healthcare providers approach sickle cell management.
• NMDP’s Sickle Cell Warriors Program: Learn about this program’s role in supporting patients.
• Information about Clinical Trials: Stay informed about ongoing research.

The webinar was moderated by Anna DeSalvo, a Senior Clinical Trials Patient Navigator with the NMDP Sickle Cell Warriors Program, and features a presentation by Dr. Lakshmanan Krishnamurti from Emory University. Additionally, each session highlights real patient experiences related to the discussed topics.

Release Date: 4/15/2024

Expiration Date: 4/15/2025

Estimated time to complete activity: One hour

Reviewed and recertified date: 4/15/2024

Live event: September 20, 2021

Original release date: September 21, 2021

Statement of Need:
The Sickle Cell Warriors Program at NMDP is a patient services program that assists in typing for patients, financial assistance, counseling, patient education and providing peer connections. The primary feedback from patients in the Sickle Cell Warrior Program is that #1 barrier to treatment is physicians. Patients report that they are not being told about all of their treatment options; regardless of disease severity, they should at least be made aware of various options, but often they are not. Many patients go to the Sickle Cell Warriors Program to enroll in a clinical trial for transplant, but this usually does not cover cost of HLA typing. In this case, the referring physician has not gone through the process of HLA typing, either because of misinformation or because the physician refuses to provide an order for typing simply because they don’t agree with patients’ physicians. This is a clear miscommunication between the community oncologists and transplant physicians. In surveys, transplant physicians identify a lack of awareness, lack of confidence, and reliance on outdated data from the referring physicians. These referring physicians in a similar survey reported that their primary reason for not communicating all treatment options was noncompliance in patients who they did not believe had the means to move forward with treatment. This illustrates a complex problem between the three groups (referring community physicians, transplant physicians, and the patients themselves) that this webinar series aims to address.

Target Audience:
This activity is intended for physicians, both referring physicians and transplant specialists, scientists, and other healthcare professionals who are part of the multidisciplinary team.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this education activity, participants will be able to:

1. Review potential challenges in finding an appropriate stem cell source and enrolling in clinical trials.
2. Identify potential socioeconomic barriers for patients in the transplant process, and relevant supports and programs to alleviate potential barriers and burdens.
3. Examine any underlying hesitancy in colleagues in the field, to help engage colleagues in a meaningful way throughout the transplant process. 

Accreditation

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by The France Foundation (TFF), the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), and the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT). The France Foundation 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.

Credit Designation 

Physicians

The France Foundation designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  

Method of Participation/How to Receive Credit:

There are no fees for participating and receiving credit for this activity. Successful completion is achieved by reviewing the CE information, completing the pre-test, completing the activity, and completing the post-test and evaluation form. A score of at least 75% on the posttest is required to successfully complete this activity. The participant may take the test until successfully passed.
If you are requesting AMA credits or a certificate of participation, your certificate will be available for download. 

Disclosure Policy:
In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT require that individuals in a position to control the content of an educational activity disclose all relevant financial relationships with a commercial entity. TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT resolve all conflicts of interest to ensure independence, objectivity, balance, and scientific rigor in all their educational programs. Furthermore, TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT seek to verify that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CME/CE activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT are committed to providing learners with high-quality CME/CE activities that promote improvements in health care and not those of a commercial interest.

Planning committee members, faculty, reviewers, and activity staff have disclosed the following relevant financial relationships. All relevant financial relationships listed have been mitigated.

Commercial Supporter Disclosures
No commercial support was provided for this webinar.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use:
TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT require CME faculty (speakers) to disclose when products or procedures being discussed are off label, unlabeled, experimental, and/or investigational, and any limitations on the information that is presented, such as data that are preliminary, or that represent ongoing research, interim analyses, and/or unsupported opinion. Faculty in this activity may discuss information about pharmaceutical agents that is outside of US Food and Drug Administration approved labeling. This information is intended solely for continuing medical education and is not intended to promote off-label use of these medications. TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. If you have questions, contact the Medical Affairs Department of the manufacturer for the most recent prescribing information.

Disclaimer:
TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT present this information for educational purposes only. The content is provided solely by faculty who have been selected because of recognized expertise in their field. Participants have the professional responsibility to ensure that products are prescribed and used appropriately on the basis of their own clinical judgment and accepted standards of care. TFF, NMDP, and ASTCT assume no liability for the information herein.