Oncology patients across the region can now benefit from a collaboration that combines the expertise of WellSpan Health oncology providers with that of one of the leading cancer medical institutions in the world, the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, part of Johns Hopkins Medicine.
“The most complex patients with the most complex diseases can access WellSpan Health and have the confidence in knowing that they will receive world-class care,” says Nikhilesh Korgaonkar, MD, MBA, FACS, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, WellSpan Cancer Institute. “In the vast majority of cases, we will be able to handle oncology patient needs within WellSpan Cancer Institute, but for those more complex cases, we can solicit the input of experts from the NCI-designated Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.”
This collaboration means that patients can benefit from the combined experience of WellSpan Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine, giving them access to advanced genomics, clinical trials and state-of-the-art technology — all without leaving the care of their referring provider or having to travel for most treatments. When necessary, care for the most complex cases can be seamlessly handed off to Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, so patients can receive part of their treatment there and return home for the rest.
The Evolution of the Cancer Care Collaboration
At its inception in 2017, the WellSpan Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine collaboration involved virtual second opinions via remote chart review for medical oncology patients.
While this virtual second opinion service is still in place, patients will now benefit from other modes of collaboration including case presentation at Johns Hopkins tumor conferences and second opinions from Hopkins physicians in medical oncology, radiation oncology and surgical oncology.
“The ways in which we share care of our patients have deepened a lot since the original version of our collaboration,” Dr. Korgaonkar says. “In addition, there’s more robust interpersonal interaction between our oncology providers, which will in turn spur deeper relationships with research and clinical trials that will drive better patient care.”
This deeper care involves sharing best practices among institutions, resulting in alignment in terms of patient safety standards and quality care measures. The two institutions work together not just on individual patient cases, but also on the larger project of delivering evidence-based cancer treatments as safely and effectively as possible.
“When patients come to WellSpan Health, they receive world-class cancer care,” Dr. Korgaonkar says. “I truly believe with the level of compassion, familiarity and personalized care that comes from knowing that you can stay within your own county, patients of South Central Pennsylvania really have no need to go anywhere else.”
Visit wellspan.org/cancer to learn more.
Referrals, Streamlined
If you have an oncology patient who could benefit from the WellSpan Health and Johns Hopkins Medicine collaboration, please refer to the WellSpan Cancer Institute website: WellSpan.org/Cancer.
In addition to providing more information on all WellSpan Cancer Institute services, you can search by location to retrieve specific contact information for your referral.