The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders moves forward with phase II of its strategic alliance with VieCure. And commences installation of the VCurePrecision™ platform.
FORT WORTH, Texas, and DENVER, Colo. — April 20, 2020 — The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD) announced that it is moving forward with the next phase of an important strategic collaboration agreement with the oncology informatics company, VieCure, and beginning the initial configuration and set up of the VCurePrecision™ platform. The parties announced on September 5, 2019 that they had entered into a Strategic Collaboration with the result being CCBD becoming a leading Global Center of Excellence for VieCure. CCBD and VieCure initially kicked off their relationship with a requirements analysis and custom development phase. That work was jointly undertaken in the fall of 2019.
CCBD and VieCure engaged in a process which included a current state analysis of the CCBD clinical delivery processes. VieCure and CCBD later defined the optimal future state clinical workflow and related processes that will be employed once the VCurePrecision™ platform is fully installed at the nine (9) CCBD Cancer Center locations. CCBD clinicians participated in process that helped to determine additional functionality enhancements to the VieCure A.I. platform and smart eMR. VieCure has been actioning many of the recommendations since early January 2020.
“Foundational to the future of oncology treatment is the execution of a vision for personalized medicine and artificial intelligence at the point of care. Realizing this vision requires access to patients, oncologists and robust molecular information and patient outcomes data,” says Barry Russo, President of CCBD. “This strategic collaboration is serving as a key vehicle to do just that. The CCBD oncologists and staff have helped to shape and tailor functionality for the VieCure™ platform to ensure it operates optimally in the private practice setting. This process has been iterative and the exchange of ideas between our clinicians and the VieCure developers will continue over the life of our agreement.”
The parties strategically aligned to accelerate three critically important paradigm shifts that are currently underway in oncology. They include (a) the rapid introduction of next generation tumor sequencing, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, (b) the transition to value based care, and (c) heightened patient participation in the management of their care given more and more patients are living longer with their disease and a greater proportion are taking oral medications at home. While these transformational changes are improving overall survival and overall quality of life for patients, they are also driving the need for changes at point-of-care given oncologists are being called upon to evaluate an ever-growing amount of patient data and an ever-changing body of clinical evidence. “Phase II of the collaboration is now underway and includes the codification and loading of CCBD clinical content including pathways, value-based care rules, financial rules and algorithms to support optimal workflow at the local practice level,” said Dr. Fred Ashbury, Chief Scientific Officer at VieCure. “Additionally, we are finalizing the interface requirements for requisite clinical systems like billing, labs, imaging, and dispensing cabinets, and establishing cloud infrastructure to support patient hosting. Training of clinical and professional staff at the various CCBD locations will occur later this spring and summer. Quality assurance and required testing of the platform, the clinical and financial rules, all interfaces, and the eMR will follow with go-live forecasted for early fall.”
About The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (Fort Worth, TX)
CCBD is one of the nation’s most highly respected private practice cancer centers and provides ground-breaking treatment options to cancer patients in the North Texas region through its network of nine affiliated practices. It is committed to being on the forefront of cancer fighting technologies through groundbreaking research and integrated therapies, encompassing the latest scientific advances. It is also committed to compassionate care, treating each patient as a cherished and respected individual. TXCC was certified by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Certification Program and has been acknowledged as an Innovator in value-based care, patient engagement, and cancer patient risk stratification.
About VieCure
VieCure has developed the proprietary VieCure™ platform (the “Platform”), a real-time decision-support system that combines clinical knowledge with patient data to assist oncologists in generating personalized treatment plans and managing a patient’s care throughout his or her cancer therapy. The Platform encompasses a proprietary artificial intelligence engine, a knowledge base containing world-leading precision medicine and standard of care guidance and an integrated electronic medical record, specifically created for oncology practices. The platform allows the treatment team to select a preferred course of therapy from a database of treatment plans and modify it as appropriate for the individual patient’s unique circumstances, following best practices including precision medicine options where indicated, as well as institution-specific clinical and financial rules and guidance. Throughout these continuum of care, the platform’s rules-based algorithms suggest therapy adjustments for the treatment team to consider, based on the patient’s test results (including next generation tumor sequencing) and specific responses to treatment. The Platform’s embedded EMR functionality includes registration and demographics, scheduling, evaluation and management, toxicity tracking and management, performance status monitoring, orders, pharmacy dispensing, medication administration record, charge capture, progress notes, and flowsheet. It also has a tethered mobile patient app to assist with streamlining communication between providers and patients. Contact Information: VieCure Michael Power Chief Business Development Officer Michael.Power@viecure.com