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Peter B. Bach

Director, Center for Health Policy and Outcomes

Pictured: Peter Bach

Office Phone

646-888-8217

Email

bachp@mskcc.org

Education

Harvard University; University of Minnesota; University of Chicago
Price of Cancer Drugs: Graphs and Table
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Peter B. Bach, Director of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, is a physician, epidemiologist, researcher, and respected healthcare policy expert whose work focuses on the cost and value of anticancer drugs. Dr. Bach is leading efforts to increase understanding of the US drug development process and develop new models for drug pricing that include value to patients as a critical component. As the cost of specialty drugs continues to grow, he argues that prices are no longer rational, and a better pricing system could increase patient access to life-saving medications at lower costs while spurring innovation.

Dr. Bach’s research has found that the cost of newly approved cancer drugs has skyrocketed since the 1970s.  The price for more than 30 newly approved cancer drugs grew to $10,000 a month or more from 2010 to 2014 without any clear economic justification for the pricing. Dr. Bach has also found that there has been a nearly 100-fold increase in cancer drug prices since 1965 after adjusting for inflation, and that the cost of an additional year of life from a cancer treatment increases by $8,500 each year.

In 2012, he and other physicians at MSK drew attention to the high price of a newly approved cancer drug and announced the hospital’s unprecedented move not to offer it to patients because of its high price tag with no notable improved clinical outcomes. The drug price was later cut in half by the manufacturer.

Comparative Cancer Drug Pricing
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Dr. Bach’s work in lung cancer screening has led to the development of several lung cancer screening guidelines and one of the first-ever risk-prediction models for this disease. He has also proposed a number of strategies for Medicare to link payment to the value of healthcare services delivered. 

Dr. Bach has been inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigators and the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. He serves on the Board of Advisors of the University of Michigan Cancer Center and the World Economic Forum and is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. He is Vice Chair of the CMS MEDCAC and a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Board on Health Care Services and the Committee on Performance Measurement of the National Committee on Quality Assurance. He served as the Chair of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Technical Expert Panel that developed quality measures for cancer hospitals. He also served as a Senior Advisor for Cancer Policy at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2005 and 2006.

Dr. Bach has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and editorials in scientific journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. He has also written numerous healthcare-related op-eds and been featured in mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times, New York magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, and 60 Minutes. View a comprehensive list of media coverage of Dr. Bach and his work.

Lung Cancer Screening Decision Tool
Think you may be at risk for lung cancer? Our experts developed a screening decision tool to help you better understand your risk.
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Dr. Bach completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University and his medical studies at the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago Harris School. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University followed by a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins. While at the University of Chicago, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar. Dr. Bach has been a faculty member in MSK’s Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics since 1998 and a Senior Scholar at the International Agency for Research on Cancer since 2008.

Publications

Bach PB, Mirkin JN, Oliver TK, Azzoli CG, Berry DA, Brawley OW, Byers T, Colditz GA, Gould MK, Jett JR, Sabichi AL, Smith-Bindman R, Wood DE, Qaseem A, Detterbeck FC. Benefits and harms of CT screening for lung cancer: a systematic review. JAMA. 2012 Jun 13;307(22):2418-29.

Bach PB, Pham HH, Schrag D, Tate RC, Hargraves JL.  Primary care physicians who treat blacks and whites.  N Engl J Med 2004; 351: 575-84. [Accompanied by editorial]

Bach PB. Limits on Medicare’s Ability to Control Rising Spending on Cancer Drugs. N Engl J Med. 2009; 360: 626-33.

Bach PB. A map to bad policy—hospital efficiency measures in the Dartmouth Atlas. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(7):569-73.

Bach PB, Mirkin JN, Luke JJ. Episode-based payment for cancer care: a proposed pilot for Medicare. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011 Mar;30(3):500-9.

Bach PB.  Cost sharing for health care – whose skin?  which game?  N Engl J Med 2008; 358: 411-3.

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  1. Bach PB, Carson SS, Leff A. “Outcomes and Resource Utilization for Patients with Prolonged Critical Illness Managed by University Based or Community Based Subspecialists.” Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1998;158:1410-5. [PubMed Abstract]

  2. Bach PB, Calhoun EA, Bennett CL. The relation between physician experience and patterns of care for patients with AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP): Results from a survey of 1,500 physicians. Chest 1999;115(6):1563-9. [PubMed Abstract]

  3. Carson SS, Bach PB, Brzozowski L, Leff A. Outcomes after long term acute care. An analysis of 133 mechanically ventilated patients. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1999;159:1568-73. [PubMed Abstract]

  4. Bach PB, Calhoun EA, Bennett CL. Identifying providers of care to individuals with human immunodeficiency virus for a mail survey using a prescription tracking database. J Clin Epidemiol 1999;52:147-50. [PubMed Abstract]

  5. Bach PB, Lantos, JL. Methadone dosing, heroin affordability, and the severity of addiction. Am J Public Health 1999; 89:662-5. [PubMed Abstract]

  6. Bach PB, Cramer LD, Warren JL, Begg CB. Racial differences in the treatment of early-stage lung cancer. N Engl J Med 1999;341:1198-1205. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  7. Feinstein MB, Bach PB. Epidemiology of lung cancer. Chest Surg Clin N Am 2000;10:653-61. [PubMed Abstract]

  8. Schrag D, Cramer LD, Bach PB, Cohen AM, Warren JL, Begg CB: Influence of hospital procedure volume on outcomes following surgery for colon cancer. JAMA 2000; 284:3028-35. [PubMed Abstract]

  9. Bach PB, Brown C, Gelfand SE, McCrory DC. Management of Acute Exacerbations of COPD: A Summary and Appraisal of Published Evidence. Ann Intern Med 2001;134:600-20. (reprinted in Chest 2001;119:1190-1209) [Accompanied by practice guidelines] [PubMed Abstract]

  10. Schrag D, Cramer LD, Bach PB, Begg CB. Age and adjuvant chemotherapy use after surgery for stage III colon cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2001; 93:850-7. [PubMed Abstract]

  11. Bach PB, Cramer LD, Schrag D, Downey RJ, Gelfand SE, Begg CB. The influence of hospital volume on survival after resection for lung cancer. N Engl J Med 2001;345:181-8. [PubMed Abstract]

  12. Schrag D, Gelfand SE, Bach PB, Guillem J, Minsky BD, Begg CB. Who gets adjuvant radiation for stage II and III rectal cancer: insights from surveillance, epidemiology, and end results-Medicare. J Clin Oncol 2001;19:3712-8. [accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  13. Carson SS, Bach PB. Predicting mortality in patients suffering from prolonged critical illness: an assessment of four severity-of-illness measures. Chest 2001;120:928-33. [PubMed Abstract]

  14. Bach PB, Schrag D, Nierman DM, Horak D, White P Jr, Young JW, Groeger JS. Identification of poor prognostic features among patients requiring mechanical ventilation after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Blood 2001; 98:3234-40 [PubMed Abstract]

  15. Begg CB, Riedel ER, Bach PB, Kattan MW, Schrag D, Warren JL, Scardino PT. Variations in morbidity after radical prostatectomy. N Engl J Med 2002; 346:1138-44. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  16. Bach PB, Schrag D, Brawley OW, Galaznik A, Yakren S, Begg CB. Survival of blacks and whites after a cancer diagnosis. JAMA 2002;287:2106-13. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  17. Carson SS, Bach PB. The epidemiology and costs of chronic critical illness. Chest Surg Clin N Am 2002; 18:461-76. [PubMed Abstract]

  18. Mokhtari M, Bach PB, Tietjen PA, Stover DE. Clinical characteristics of bronchiolitis with organizing pneumonia in cancer- A case series. Respir Med 2002;96:280-6.[PubMed Abstract]

  19. Bach PB, Guadagnoli E, Schrag D, Schussler N, Warren JL. Patient demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in the SEER-Medicare database: applications and limitations. Med Care 2002; 40(8) Supplement: IV-19 through IV-25.[PubMed Abstract]

  20. Warren JL, Klabunde CN, Schrag D, Bach PB, Riley GF. Overview of the SEER-Medicare Data: content, research applications, and generalizability to the United States elderly population. Med Care 2002; 40(8): Supplement: IV-3 through IV-18. [PubMed Abstract]

  21. Schrag D, Bach PB, Dahlman C, Warren JL. Identifying and measuring hospital characteristics using the SEER-Medicare data and other claims based sources. Med Care 2002; 40(8) Supplement: IV-96 through IV-103. [PubMed Abstract]

  22. Bach PB, Malak SF, Jurcic J, Gelfand SE, Eagan J, Little C, Sepkowitz KA. The impact of infection by vancomycin resistant enterococcus on survival and resource utilization for patients with leukemia. Infect Control Hospital Epidemiol 2002;23:471-4. [PubMed Abstract]

  23. Schrag D, Rifas-Shiman S, Saltz L, Bach PB, Begg CB. Adjuvant chemotherapy use for Medicare beneficiaries with stage II colon cancer. J Clin Oncol 2002;20:3999-4005. [PubMed Abstract]

  24. Gross CP, Soffer BL, Bach PB, Rajkumar R, Forman HP. State expenditures for tobacco-control programs and the tobacco settlement. N Engl J Med 2002;347:1080-6. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  25. Schrag D, Panageas KS, Riedel E, Cramer LD, Guillem JG, Bach PB, Begg CB. Hospital and surgeon volume as predictors of outcome following rectal cancer resection. Annals of Surg 2002; 236:583-92.

  26. Bach PB, Kelley MJ, Tate RC, McCrory DC. Screening for lung cancer: a review of the current literature. Chest 2003;123:72S-82S.

  27. Bach PB, Niewoehner DE, Black WC. Screening for lung cancer: the guidelines. Chest 2003; 123: 83S-88S.

  28. Bennett CL, Somerfield MR, Pfister DG, Tomori C, Yakren S, Bach PB. Perspectives on the value of american society of clinical oncology clinical guidelines as reported by oncologists and health maintenance organizations. J Clin Oncol 2003; 21:937-41. [PubMed Abstract]

  29. Bach PB, Kattan MW, Thornquist MD, Kris MG, Tate RC, Barnett MJ, Hsieh LJ, Begg CB. Variations in lung cancer risk among smokers. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003; 95:470-8. [PubMed Abstract]

  30. Schrag D, Hsieh LJ, Rabbani F, Bach PB, Herr H, Begg CB. Adherence to surveillance among patients with superficial bladder cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2003; 95;588-97. [PubMed Abstract]

  31. Schrag D, Panageas KS, Riedel E, Hsieh L, Bach PB, Guillem JG, Begg CB. Surgeon volume compared to hospital volume as a predictor of outcome following primary colon cancer resection. J Surg Oncol 2003;83:68-79. [PubMed Abstract]

  32. Panageas KS, Schrag D, Riedel E, Bach PB, Begg CB. The effect of clustering of outcomes on the association of procedure volume and surgical outcomes. Ann Intern Med 2003;139:658-65. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  33. Bondoc AY, Bach PB, Sklarin NT, Vander Els NJ. Arterial desaturation syndrome following pleurodesis with talc slurry: incidence, clinical features, and outcome. Cancer Invest 2003;21:848-54. [PubMed Abstract]

  34. Rizk NP, Bach PB, Schrag D, Bains MS, Turnbull AD, Karpeh M, Brennan MF, Rusch VW. The impact of complications on outcomes after resection for esophageal and gastroesophageal junction carcinoma. J Am Coll Surg 2004;198:42-50. [PubMed Abstract]

  35. Patel JD, Bach PB, Kris MG. Lung cancer in US women - a contemporary epidemic. JAMA 2004;291:1763-8 [PubMed Abstract]

  36. Bach PB, Pham HH, Schrag D, Tate RC, Hargraves JL. Primary care physicians who treat blacks and whites. N Engl J Med 2004; 351: 575-84. [Accompanied by editorial] [PubMed Abstract]

  37. Amar D, Shi W, Hogue CW, Zhang H, Passman RS, Thomas B, Bach PB, Damiano R, Thaler HT. Clinical prediction rule for atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass grafting. J Am Coll Cardiol 2004; 44:1248-53. [PubMed Abstract]

  38. Bach PB, Schrag D, Begg CB. Resurrecting treatment histories of dead patients: a study design that should be laid to rest. JAMA 2004; 292:2765-70. [PubMed Abstract]

  39. Bach PB, Elkin EB, Pastorino U, Kattan MW, Mushlin AI, Begg CB, Parkin DM. Benchmarking lung cancer mortality rates in current and former smokers. Chest 2004;126:1742-1749. [PubMed Abstract]

  40. Lyman S, Jones EC, Bach PB, Peterson MG, Marx RG. The association between hospital volume and total shoulder arthroplasty outcomes. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2005 Mar;(432):132-7. [PubMed Abstract]

  41. Schrag D, Mitra N, Xu F, Rabbani F, Bach PB, Herr H, Begg CB. Cystectomy for muscle-invasive bladder cancer: patterns and outcomes of care in the Medicare population. Urology 2005;65:1118-1125. [PubMed Abstract]

  42. Pham HH, Schrag D, Hargraves JL, Bach PB. Delivery of preventive services to older adults by primary care physicians. JAMA 2005 Jul 27;294(4):473-81. [PubMed Abstract]

  43. Lyman S, Sherman S, Carter TI, Bach PB, Mandl LA, Marx RG. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Symptomatic Thromboembolic Events after Shoulder Arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006; 448: 152-56.

  44. Cronin KA, Gail MH, Zou Z, Bach PB, Virtamo J, Albanes D. Validation of a model of lung cancer risk prediction among smokers. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006; 98:637-40.

  45. Schrag D, Xu F, Hanger M, Elkin E, Bickell NA, Bach PB. Fragmentation of care for frequently hospitalized urban residents. Med Care. 2006; 44:560-7.

  46. Ballas LK, Elkin EB, Schrag D, Minsky BD, Bach PB. Radiation therapy facilities in the United States. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006 Nov 15;66(4):1204-11.

  47. Bekelman JE, Rosenzweig KE, Bach PB, Schrag D. Trends in the use of postoperative radiotherapy for resected non-small-cell lung cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2006; 66: 492-9.

  48. Bach PB, Jett JR, Pastorino U, Tockman MS, Swensen SJ, Begg CB. Computed tomography screening and lung cancer outcomes. JAMA. 2007;297:953-61. [Accompanied by editorial; featured on JAMA “Author in the Room”]

  49. Tunis SR, Carino TV, Williams RD 2nd, Bach PB. Federal initiatives to support rapid learning about new technologies. Health Aff (Millwood). 2007;26:w140-9.

  50. Pham HH, Schrag D, O’Malley AS, Wu B, Bach PB. Care patterns in Medicare and their implications for pay for performance. N Engl J Med. 2007;356(11):1130-9. [Accompanied by editorial]

  51. O’Malley AS, Pham HH, Schrag D, Wu B, Bach PB. Potentially avoidable hospitalizations for COPD and pneumonia: the role of physician and practice characteristics. Med Care. 2007;45(6):562-70.

  52. Bach PB, Silvestri GA, Hanger M, Jett JR. Screening for lung cancer: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition).Chest. 2007;132(3 Suppl):69S-77S.

  53. Elkin EB, Ishill N, Riley GF, Bach PB, Gonen M, Begg CB, Schrag D. Disenrollment from Medicare managed care among beneficiaries with and without a cancer diagnosis. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2008 Jul 16; 100(14):1013-21.

  54. Weingart SN, Brown E, Bach PB, Eng K, Johnson SA, Kuzel TM, Langbaum TS, Leedy RD, Muller RJ, Newcomer LN, O’Brien S, Reinke D, Rubino M, Saltz L, Walters RS. NCCN Task Force Report: Oral chemotherapy. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2008 Mar;6 Suppl 3:S1-14. Review.

  55. Hassett MJ, Bach PB. The Current State of Cancer Quality Measurement: a background research paper for Towards a Comprehensive Cancer Measure Set: Value-Based Episodes of Care. National Quality Forum September 2008; 1-53.

  56. Bach PB. Limits on Medicare’s Ability to Control Rising Spending on Cancer Drugs. New England Journal of Medicine. N Engl J Med. 2009 Feb 5;360(6):626-33. Epub 2009 Jan 27. [PubMed Abstract]

  57. Pham HH, O’Malley AS, Bach PB, Saiontz-Martinez C, Schrag D. Primary care physicians’ links to other physicians through Medicare patients: the scope of care coordination. Ann Intern Med. 2009 Feb 17;150(4):236-42.

  58. Lyman S, Dunn WR, Spock C, Bach PB, Mandl LA, Marx RG. Validity of same-side reoperation after total hip and knee arthroplasty using administrative databases. J Knee Surg. 2009;22(1):17-20.

  59. Janjigian YY, McDonnell K, Kris MG, Shen R, Sima CS, Bach PB, Rizvi NA, Riely GJ. Pack-years of cigarette smoking as a prognostic factor in patients with stage IIIB/IV nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cancer. 2010;116(3):670-5.

  60. Bach PB. A map to bad policy—hospital efficiency measures in the Dartmouth Atlas. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(7):569-73.

  61. Jang TL, Bekelman JE, Liu Y, Bach PB, Basch EM, Elkin EB, Zelefsky MJ, Scardino PT, Begg CB, Schrag D. Physician visits prior to treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer. Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(5):440-50.

  62. Elkin EB, Ishill NM, Snow JG, Panageas KS, Bach PB, Liberman L, Wang F, Schrag D. Geographic access and the use of screening mammography. Med Care. 2010;48(4):349-56.

  63. Learn PA, Bach PB. A decade of mortality reductions in major oncologic surgery: the impact of centralization and quality improvement. Med Care. 2010 Dec;48(12):1041-9.

  64. Pearson SD, Bach PB. How medicare could use comparative effectiveness research in deciding on new coverage and reimbursement. Health Aff. 2010;29:1796-804.

  65. Abernethy AP, Etheredge LM, Ganz PA, Wallace P, German RR, Neti C, Bach PB, Murphy SB. Rapid-learning system for cancer care. J Clin Oncol. 2010;28:4268-74.

  66. Bach PB, Mirkin JN, Luke JJ. Episode-based payment for cancer care: a proposed pilot for Medicare. Health Aff (Millwood). 2011 Mar;30(3):500-9.

  67. Bach PB..Inconsistencies in findings from the early lung cancer action project studies of lung cancer screening. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2011 Jul 6;103(13):1002-6.

  68. Carrier ER, Schneider E, Pham HH, Bach PB. Association between quality of care and the sociodemographic composition of physicians’ patient panels: a repeat cross-sectional analysis. J Gen Intern Med. 2011 Sep;26(9):987-94.

  69. Etzel CJ, Bach PB. Estimating individual risk for lung cancer. Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Feb;32(1):3-9.

  70. Salz T, Oeffinger KC, McCabe MS, Layne TM, Bach PB. Survivorship care plans in research and practice. CA Cancer J Clin. 2012 Jan 12. [Epub ahead of print].

  71. Conti RM, Rosenthal MB, Polite BN, Bach PB, Shih YC.  Infused chemotherapy use in the elderly after patent expiration. Am J Manag Care. 2012 May 1;18(5):e173-8.
    Bach PB, Mirkin JN, Oliver TK, Azzoli CG, Berry DA, Brawley OW, Byers T, Colditz GA, Gould MK, Jett JR, Sabichi AL, Smith-Bindman R, Wood DE, Qaseem A, Detterbeck FC. Benefits and harms of CT screening for lung cancer: a systematic review. JAMA. 2012 Jun 13;307(22):2418-29.

  72. Albornoz CR, Bach PB, Pusic AL, McCarthy CM, Mehrara BJ, Disa JJ, Cordeiro PG, Matros E. The influence of sociodemographic factors and hospital characteristics on the method of breast reconstruction, including microsurgery: a U.S. population-based study. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2012 May;129(5):1071-9.

  73. Albornoz CR, Bach PB, Mehrara BJ, Disa JJ, Pusic AL, McCarthy CM, Cordeiro PG, Matros E.  A paradigm shift in u.s. Breast reconstruction: increasing implant rates.  Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013 Jan;131(1):15-23.

  74. Lou F, Huang J, Sima CS, Dycoco J, Rusch V, Bach PB.  Patterns of recurrence and second primary lung cancer in early-stage lung cancer survivors followed with routine computer tomography surveillance.  J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg.  2013 Jan;145(1):75-82.

  75. Roth BJ, Krilov L, Adams S, Aghajanian CA, Bach P, Braiteh F, Brose MS, Ellis LM, Erba H, George DJ, Gilbert MR, Jacobson JO, Larsen EC, Lichtman SM, Partridge AH, Patel JD, Quinn DI, Robison LL,Von Roenn JH, Samlowski W, Schwartz GK, Vogelzang NJ. Clinical cancer advances 2012: annual report on progress against cancer from the american society of clinical oncology.  J Clin Oncol. 2013 Jan 1;31(1):131-61.

INVITED EDITORIALS, REVIEWS, COMMENTARIES

  1. Bach PB.  “Unequal Treatment:  Confronting racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare [invited book review].”  N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1296-7. 

  2. Groeger JS, Bach PB.  Consider saying yes [editorial].  Crit Care Med 2003; 31:320-1.

  3. Bach PB. Using practice guidelines to assess cancer care quality [invited editorial].  J Clin Oncol. 2005; 23:9041-3.

  4. Bach PB, McClellan MB.  A prescription for a modern Medicare program [invited perspective].  N Engl J Med. 2005; 353:2733-5.

  5. Bach PB.  Racial disparities and site of care [invited commentary]. Ethn Dis. 2005;15:S31-3.

  6. Bach PB, McClellan MB. The first months of the prescription-drug benefit—a CMS update [invited perspective]. N Engl J Med. 2006;354:2312-4.

  7. Bach PB. “Costs of cancer care: a view from the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services [invited commentary].” J Clin Oncol. 2007; 10:187-90.

  8. Bach PB.   Overdiagnosis in lung cancer: different perspectives, definitions, implications.  Thorax. 2008; 63:298-300.

  9. Bach PB. Lung cancer screening. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2008; 6(3):271-5.

  10. Bach PB.  Cost sharing for health care – whose skin?  which game?  N Engl J Med 2008; 358: 411-3.

  11. Bach PB. Is our natural-history model of lung cancer wrong? Lancet Oncology. 2008 Jul. 9(7):693-7.

  12. Bach PB. Do surgical quality gaps cause healthcare disparities? Medical Care. 2008 Sep;46(9):889-92.

  13. Bach PB. Smoking as a factor in causing lung cancer. JAMA. 2009 Feb 4;301(5):539-41.

  14. Bach PB.  Quality wrapped in volume inside a hospital. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150(10):729-30.

  15. Lyman S, Marx RG, Bach PB. Cost-effectiveness analysis of an established, effective procedure.  Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(12):1102-3.

  16. Morris PG, Bach PB. Adjuvant anthracyclines and taxanes: quantifying the costs of therapeutic advances in breast cancer.  Onkologie. 2009;32(8-9):464-6.

  17. Elkin EB, Bach PB. Cancer’s next frontier: addressing high and increasing costs. JAMA. 2010;303(11):1086-7.

  18. Learn PA, Bach PB. Pem and the cost of multicycle maintenance. J Thorac Oncol. 2010;5:1111-2.

  19. Bach PB. Postmenopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer: an uncertain trade-off. JAMA. 2010;304:1719-20.

  20. Bach PB. Commentary: Medicare’s 2006 Oncology Demonstration Project: Lost in Translation? J Oncol Pract. 2010 Mar;6(2):59-60.

  21. Bach PB. Gardasil: from bench, to bedside, to blunder. Lancet. 2010;375(9719):963-4.

  22. Bach PB, Gould MK. When the Average Applies to No One: Personalized Decision Making About Potential Benefits of Lung Cancer Screening.  Ann Intern Med. 2012 Oct 16;157(8):571-3.

  23. Bach PB, Lewis RJ. Multiplicities in the assessment of multiple vitamins: is it too soon to tell men that vitamins prevent cancer? JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association 2012;308:1916-7.

LETTERS, CHAPTERS

  1. Bach PB.  “Physicians’ Experience and Survival in Patients with AIDS [letter].”  N Engl J Med 1996;5:350.

  2. Begg CB, Bach PB.  “All-cause mortality in randomized trials of cancer screening [letter].”  J Natl Cancer Inst 2002;94(11):863-4.

  3. Bach PB, Ginsberg RJ.  Epidemiology of Lung Cancer.  American Cancer Society Atlas of Clinical Oncology: Lung Cancer 2002. BC Decker, Inc. Hamilton, London.

  4. Bach PB, Schrag D.  “Re: risk charts:  putting cancer in context [letter].”  J Natl Cancer Inst 2002; 94 (20):1584-5.

  5. Bach PB. “Survival in women after diagnosis of lung cancer [letter].” JAMA 2007; 10 (297):153

  6. Bach PB.  “CT screening for lung cancer. [letter]. ”  N Engl J Med. 2007;356:744.

  7. Bach PB. “CT screening for lung cancer. [letter]. ”  Cleve Clin J Med. 2007;74(11):769-70.

  8. Bach PB.  Response to “CT screening for lung cancer: update 2007 [letter]”.  Oncologist. 2008 ;13(5):608-9; author reply 610-2.

  9. Bach PB, Vickers AJ. “Do the Data Support the Comorbidity Hypothesis for the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial Results? [letter].”  J Clin Oncol. 2011 Mar 21.

  10. Bach PB. “Untreated patients in CT screening for lung cancer: update 2007 [letter].” Oncologist. 2008 Sep;13(9):1030-2; author reply 1033.

  11. Bach PB. “Reduced lung-cancer mortality with CT screening [letter].”  N Engl J Med. 2011 Nov 24;365(21):2036; author reply 2037-8.

  12. Mirkin JN, Bach PB.  “Outcome-blinded peer review. [letter].”  Arch Intern Med. 2011 Jul 11;171(13):1213-4; author reply 1214.

OPINION

  1. Bach PB. “Ms. Thompson’s Murmur [personal history]” The Pharos, Fall, 1992;4:22-5.

  2. Bach PB. “Goma Diary [a piece of my mind]” JAMA 1995;7:517.

  3. Bach PB. “How many doctors does it take to treat a patient?” The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2007, A17 opinion section. [4th most e-mailed article of the day]

  4. Bach PB. “Why we’ll never cure cancer.” The Wall Street Journal, October 27-28, 2007, A9, opinion section. [2nd most e-mailed article of the day]

  5. Bach PB. “Paying doctors to ignore patients.” The New York Times, July 24, 2008 opinion section.

  6. Bach PB. Commentary on Health Information exchange. NPR’s Marketplace, April 2, 2009.

  7. Bach PB. “Medicare, Start the Bidding.” The New York Times, June 4, 2009. opinion section.

  8. http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com

    Bach PB. “A systematic search for waste.” Invited blog post under “Reactions to the Speech: A Health Care Roundtable.” At:

  9. Bach PB. “A shot in the arm for the Pap Smear.” Commentary posted at Forbes.com, October 20, 2009.

  10. http://www.slate.com/id/2274942/

    Bach PB. “CT Scam: Don’t believe the hype about lung-cancer screenings.” Commentary posted at Slate.com, Nov. 15, 2010. At:

  11. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/author/peter-b-bach-md/

    Bach PB. “The Doctor’s Wife” Blog by Peter B. Bach. At: [seven weekly entries] – dates 2/21/11-4/4/11.

  12. Bach PB, Kocher R.“Why Medical School Should Be Free”. The New York Times, May 28, 2011. Opinion section. [2nd most emailed article of the week].

  13. Bach PB.”When Care Is Worth It, Even if End Is Death”. The New York Times, December 12, 2011. Health Section.

  14. Bach PB. “The Trouble with ‘Doctors Knows Best’”.  The New York Times, June 4, 2012. Health Section. [4th most emailed article of the day]

  15. Bach PB, Saltz LB, Wittes RE. “In Cancer Care, Costs Matter”   The New York Times, October 14, 2012.  Opinion Section.

 

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For Drugs That Save Lives, a Steep Cost
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The Tobacco Ties That Bind
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India's Efforts to Aid Poor Worry Drug Makers
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The Soaring Cost of a Simple Breath
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The Cost of Living
Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Challenges to Cancer Drug Pricing Featured in New York Magazine Cover Story
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Task Force Urges Scans for Smokers at High Risk
Cancer Care in the United States: Newly Released IOM Report Details a “System in Crisis”
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Risk for Lung Cancer Varies Among Smokers
New Online Tool Helps People Decide Whether to Be Screened for Lung Cancer
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Check Please: Choosing the Best Hospital for Your Cancer Surgery
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Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer
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When a Famous Hospital Didn't Want an Expensive New Drug
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Little Support for Idea of Medicare Payments That Vary
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Dispute Develops Over Discount Drug Program
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Debt May Influence Young Doctors' Career Plans
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Does the Doctor Know Best?
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Sanofi Halves Price of Cancer Drug Zaltrap after Sloan Kettering Rejection
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The Cancer "Breakthroughs" That Cost Too Much and Do Too Little
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The Trouble With ‘Doctor Knows Best’
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PSA Test Part of Trend: Fewer Screenings for Well People
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Lung Cancer Tests Advised for Some Heavy Smokers
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Should Medical School Be Free?
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Hospitals Promoting Bargain CT Scans For Smokers
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Eyewitness News at 5: Benefits and Risks of Lung Cancer Screening
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Why Medical School Should Be Free
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The Costly War on Cancer
Projects Led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Investigators Listed among Top Cancer Advances of 2012
The New York Times Commends Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Stance on a Costly Cancer Drug
Pulmonary Specialist Peter Bach Discusses New Findings on Benefits of CT Screening for Lung Cancer
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Do We "Waste" Money on Terminal Patients? (Part II)
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Do We "Waste" Money on Terminal Patients?
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When Care Is Worth It, Even if End Is Death - New York Times Essay
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New Collaborative Center Will Address Policy Issues Related to Cancer Care
Why Cancer Drugs Are So Expensive and Why Medicare Can't Fix the Problem
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In Cancer Care, Cost Matters
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The Journal of the American Medical Association: Indication-Specific Pricing for Cancer Drugs
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Health Affairs: The 340B Drug Discount Program: Hospitals Generate Profits By Expanding To Reach More Affluent Communities
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Institute of Medicine: Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis
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Town & Country: A Pioneering Force
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New York Times Well Blog: The Doctor's Wife
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Slate.com: CT Scam: Don't Believe the Hype About Lung-Cancer Screenings
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The New York Times: Medicare, Start the Bidding
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The Wall Street Journal: Why We'll Never Cure Cancer
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The Wall Street Journal: How Many Doctors Does It Take to Treat a Patient?
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The New York Times: Paying Doctors to Ignore Patients