UCSF Health and John Muir Health are expanding their collaborative relationship through a new outpatient center to be opened in 2018, and an expansion of cancer care.
In 2018, the new outpatient center will be located in Berkeley, California and called BayHealth.
UCSF and John Muir are partnering on an accountable care network called Canopy Health that will give members in-network health coverage including more than 4,000 physicians and 12 hospitals throughout the Bay Area.
The enhanced relationship will leverage the strengths of UCSF Health, a Northern California academic medical center, with John Muir Health's community hospitals in the San Francisco-Oakland area, to provide oncology care closer to patients' homes.
Patients will be able to get treatment right in their communities from either UCSF and John Muir Health physicians. The health systems' multi-disciplinary teams will work together to diagnose and determine the best course of therapy for patients with complex cases, the organizations said.
Both health systems in the coordinated cancer network will be more able to refer and transfer patients.
John Muir cancer patients also will have access to UCSF's clinical trials in cancer treatment.
The expansion builds upon an affiliation established between the health systems in 2015, in providing care across a number of medical specialities, including organ transplant.
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"John Muir Health and UCSF are like-minded organizations, committed to delivering cancer care in our communities through high-quality, efficient, value-based care," said Mike Thomas, president and chief administrative officer of John Muir Medical Center, Concord, Calif.
The collaboration reflects a growing demand for cancer care and long-term surveillance that stems from an aging population, rising incidence of cancer and significant increase in the number of cancer survivors, the organizations said.
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Ultimately, a network-wide electronic medical record will be available to patients and providers.
"This collaboration will combine UCSF's cancer program, which is at the forefront in scientific research, with the broad network of quality community oncologists, so we can build upon an already strong cancer program to meet the needs of the communities we serve," said Mark Laret, chief executive officer and president of UCSF Health.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse