Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and the University of Southern California’s 19-month-old alliance for cancer treatment continues to branch out in new directions.
Hoag announced this month that it and USC’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center will kick off a comprehensive program for treating skin cancer.
The Hoag Melanoma/Advanced Skin Cancer Program will focus on advanced surgery and therapeutics and clinical trials, as well as services provided in Orange County through USC Norris, Hoag said in a news release.
Hoag said that treating melanoma requires a “multidisciplinary approach.”
Oncology surgeons, plastic surgeons, dermatologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, genetic counselors and clinical nurse navigators will work together to ensure that patients’ care is “consistent and convenient,” it said.
Dr. Burton Eisenberg, executive medical director of the Hoag Family Cancer Institute, said a draw for patients would be the continuum of care housed in one location.
“Instead of shuttling between specialists and waiting for results, patients can see their surgeons, oncologists and other specialists all at the same clinic on the same day. That is the way medicine is supposed to work,” Eisenberg said.
Patients in the program will also have access to advanced clinical trials, including a “cancer stem cell” melanoma therapeutic vaccine trial, Eisenberg said.
Hoag and USC announced in October 2013 that they would start a wider comprehensive cancer program at the institute.
Vertos Medical Gets $6M
Aliso Viejo-based medical device maker Vertos Medical Inc. has raised about $6 million in venture funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Vertos makes interventional devices that treat lumbar spinal stenosis, or a narrowing of the spinal canal, without major surgery. Its devices are used in a procedure known as “mild.”
Vertos didn’t disclose the transaction round, names of investors, or proceeds.
Anthem Agreement
Insurer Anthem Blue Cross signed a deal with Marina del Rey-based Disc Sports & Spine Center, which has a location in Newport Beach, to provide in-network services to its members.
The unit of Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc. has an estimated 290,000 local members.
The Disc medical group provides a wide range of specialties, including minimally invasive spine surgery, sports medicine, and pain management.
The group also started similar deals with UnitedHealthcare, a Minnesota-based plan with 3,900 workers and 94,900 members in OC, and West Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc., with more than 65,800 local members, in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based Kareo Inc., maker of cloud-based software for small medical practices, is working with Danbury, Conn.-based electronic health records provider Medicfusion Inc. to provide products and services to chiropractors, according to Kareo. … St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton received an advanced comprehensive stroke center certification from the Washington, D.C.-based Joint Commission. St. Jude said it was one of only 10 hospitals in California to earn the designation. … UC Irvine Health has selected StrataJazz software for cost accounting, decision support, budgeting, contract analytics, and management reporting. StrataJazz is made by Chicago-based Strata Decision Technology.
