CCE, Accretive Health partner to develop novel oncology care management

Accretive Health, Inc. (NYSE:AH), a healthcare technology and services company, and Cancer Clinics of Excellence (CCE), a national network of practice-owned, physician-driven community-based oncology practices, announced today that they have partnered to develop a novel, end-to-end oncology care management offering designed to enable healthcare providers to improve the efficacy and quality of cancer care while simultaneously improving the affordability of the healthcare system.    

"Since our inception, we have been developing solutions that provide our members' practices with the opportunity to enhance the way they deliver and monitor care," said Ike Nicoll, CEO of Cancer Clinics of Excellence. "By partnering with Accretive Health, we will jointly provide our network of practices with the infrastructure , and a team of experienced advisers to build a model that creates more coordinated and integrated care that will deliver better outcomes for patients while containing costs."

Dr. Arthur Staddon, Chairman of CCE's Board of Directors and an oncologist at Pennsylvania Oncology Hematology Associates, added, "Long a proponent of providing evidence-based care in our practices, we are equally committed to affordable care, and we believe this partnership with Accretive Health moves CCE's network practices one step closer to making that goal a reality."

Cancer Clinics of Excellence today is comprised of community-based oncologists in 15 states. The National Cancer Institute estimates that the vast majority of cancer patients (about 85 percent) are treated at community-based oncology practices.

"We are delighted to work with a leading healthcare organization that has been setting new standards in the effective treatment of cancer," said Mary Tolan, CEO of Accretive Health. "Our investments and technology to help providers organizations succeed in population health management will be a cornerstone of this program, along with our commitment to enhance the care of patients by providing people, process, and technology solutions for provider organizations."

Tim Barry, President of Quality at Accretive Health, said, "CCE has long recognized that there are clear opportunities to improve cancer care while improving the affordability of healthcare for all stakeholders. They also share a deep belief that this type of improvement in healthcare can only be sustained when we invest in resources designed to help foster the physician-patient relationship. We are delighted to be able to work with this forward-thinking organization to help improve their own model for care delivery and to set an example for others about what can be achieved through new approaches to managing the continuum of care."