Bunn Named Giant of Cancer Care
(November 2014) Paul A. Bunn Jr., MD, distinguished professor of medicine and investigator at the CU Cancer Center, has been named a “Giant of Cancer Care” by publisher OncLive.
The award recognizes individuals who have achieved landmark success within the field of oncology. Bunn’s research interests focus on novel therapies for lung cancer. He has published more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed journals, more than 122 reviews and editorials, and 90 book chapters on lung cancer. His studies have set standards for the treatment of lung cancer and
Bunn is the principal investigator on numerous national and local therapeutic trials and also is the principal investigator for the Specialized Program in Research Excellence grant that is designed to conduct translational research in lung cancer.
Barriers to school-based flu vaccination
School-based influenza vaccination programs are hampered by high rates of payment denial from private insurers, school restrictions on charging fees to parents and low payments for vaccine administration from public payers like Medicaid, according to CU researchers.
Allison Kempe, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics and director of the Children’s Outcomes Research Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado, reviewed a school-based flu vaccine program in the Denver Public Schools and found that it was able to reach nearly one-third of the students, but billing and reimbursement issues posed significant problems for administrators of the program.
“The current program demonstrated that school-based third-party billing for both vaccine and implementation costs was feasible, but problems with reimbursement will need to be solved before it can be financially solvent,” the authors wrote in an article published in the May-June 2014 issue of Academic Pediatrics.
In a second article, also published in Academic Pediatrics, Kempe and her colleagues reported on a survey finding that a majority of parents supported school-located influenza vaccination programs, although they expressed concern about not being present when the vaccine is administered.
“Our data demonstrate substantial parental support for the participation of schools in helping accomplish universal coverage among elementary children, although some will likely not participate unless they are allowed to be present for the vaccination of their child,” the researchers wrote.