AccessHope and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Announce Foundational Collaboration that Will Expand Access to Cancer Expertise in the Northwestern United States
Oncology experts from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will provide remote services to enable access to specialized expertise for AccessHope’s employer clients, payers, their plan members and their treating oncologists.
AccessHope’s network of National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers grows to five centers across the U.S.
DUARTE, Calif., and SEATTLE — (September 21, 2022) — AccessHope, LLC, a company that provides cancer expertise to employers who offer employer sponsored insurance programs, payers, and other health and wellness organizations, today announced a new foundational collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (Fred Hutch) that extends the organization’s reach across key geographic regions of the United States, allowing more people living with complex cancers to access specialized cancer expertise with the aim of improving their cancer outcomes.
Fred Hutch becomes AccessHope’s fifth collaboration with a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a selective list that has grown since AccessHope was first founded and launched by City of Hope. Through the new collaboration, cancer specialists from Fred Hutch will provide specialized cancer expertise for AccessHope’s core services: Accountable Precision Oncology, Expert Advisory Review and Cancer Support Team.
“This collaboration helps further our goal at AccessHope of ensuring that cancer expertise is accessible to everyone, no matter where they live,” said Mark Stadler, Chief Executive Officer of AccessHope. “Fred Hutch’s deep expertise, and the organization’s research in precision medicine to inform individualized cancer treatment recommendations, make the organization an incredibly valuable partner to us and to those who benefit from their deep bench of experts.”
“AccessHope’s relevance to employers continues to grow as our national footprint expands. Cancer is now the leading driver of healthcare costs to employers.1 At the same time, they’re looking for solutions to issues like health equity and affordability,” said Harlan Levine, M.D., chair of the board for AccessHope. “AccessHope was founded to meet these top-of-mind concerns, providing needed support for employees and family members with cancer, and now, with the addition of Fred Hutch as a foundational partner, we are better positioned to serve plan members and their treating oncologists in the Northwest; we are honored to have them join us.”
The collaboration between AccessHope and Fred Hutch will help inform plan members and their treating oncologists of the latest cancer research and personalized treatments.
“Ensuring that anyone who is facing a cancer diagnosis has access to leading-edge cancer care is paramount to everything we do at Fred Hutch,” explained Tom Purcell, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. “Entering into this collaboration with AccessHope enhances that goal. Collaborating with employers and payers involved with AccessHope, Fred Hutch physicians will play a critical role in supporting patients in our region and across the country through sharing key insights and knowledge that will help inform treatment plans, clinical trial opportunities and improve overall outcomes for cancer patients.”
Fred Hutch is the only National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center in Washington and brings together leading research teams and cancer specialists who translate science discovery into leading-edge cancer treatments. The organization provides every patient with an individualized care plan and is a leader in developing and offering access to groundbreaking clinical trials and immunotherapy.
Patients who receive care at an NCI-Designated Cancer Center or National Comprehensive Cancer Network facility have significantly better outcomes, including improved long-term survival and strengthened treatment guideline adherence. Yet, patients who do not receive treatment at one of these elite facilities have less access to insights on the latest breakthrough medications and targeted therapies. AccessHope’s ability to connect patients to remote cancer support services aims to extend oncology expertise across the United States, in every state and ZIP code, reducing health disparities while allowing plan members to stay close to home, supported by their families and under the care of their local oncologist.
AccessHope serves approximately 3.5 million plan members who have its cancer support services through more than 80 employers including 22 of the Fortune 500, and collaborative relationships with a growing number of health plans, third-party administrators, health care platforms, consumer-driven pharmacy benefit managers and health care services companies.
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