Color Health, a virtual oncologist-led cancer clinic, has announced formal clinical collaborations with 10 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.

Color and collaborating cancer centers aim to streamline time to treatment through coordinated workup (like imaging and labs) and records preparation, as well as custom intake workflows. These elements help ensure a timely start to care when weeks can be the difference between life or death, executives say. Additional partners will be announced in the coming months.

“Speed to diagnosis, speed to treatment initiation, is one of the single biggest determinants of outcomes in cancer," Caroline Savello, president of Color, told Fierce Healthcare. “Where can we make sure that there is the right clinical coordination, the right navigation coordination happening so that things can happen swiftly through the right processes."

Cancer is among the top drivers of healthcare costs and mortality. Because of its complex and variable nature, the quality and timeliness of care are the best ways to improve outcomes and manage costs. That means less duplicate testing, fewer treatment changes later and fewer avoidable ED visits and hospitalizations

Among the collaborating centers are City of Hope-Los Angeles, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Moffitt Cancer Center, Mount Sinai, Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers go through a robust evaluation for meeting quality, safety and access standards.

When care at a specific center is determined to be a good fit for a patient, Color coordinates directly to match patients with the right team, completes the clinical workup, reviews medical records and completes authorizations to each center’s specifications.

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