GE Healthcare and Premier Inc. have announced a collaboration to develop a model to bring a same-day breast cancer diagnosis and treatment model to the United States. A similar model has already proven effective at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus in France.
Launched in 2004, the One-Stop Clinic at the Gustave Roussy Institute in France offers a coordinated patient journey from the initial appointment through diagnosis and treatment plan in one place, on one day and with one team. With a multimodality approach that includes the GE Healthcare Senographe Pristina mammography system, SenoBright Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography (CESM) and biopsy, the program has proven to be successful, with an 80 percent patient satisfaction rating.
“We’ve seen the benefit of taking a personalized approach to breast care that includes different modalities and a multidisciplinary team to ensure we get answers to our patients as quickly as possible,” said Joseph Russo, MD, section chief of women's imaging at St. Luke's University Health Network, and a member of the Advisory Board with GE Healthcare and Premier. “The One-Stop Clinic takes this a step further to offer proven same-day results that are incredibly impactful for patients and clinicians. I couldn’t be more excited to work with GE Healthcare and Premier to bring similar outcomes to life in the United States.”
“Premier is eager to explore the U.S. adoption of the One-Stop Clinic model, which decreases anxiety, aims to improve accuracy and speeds up the time it takes to diagnose breast cancer and establish a treatment plan,” said Denise Juliano, Group Vice President for Premier Applied Sciences. “We are proud to bring together the various expertise needed to evaluate this model’s potential and improve the patient experience in a way that has not been widely available to women in this country.”
To support the effort, Premier conducted a Rapid Evidence Review, one of the first comprehensive evaluations of expedited diagnosis for patients with breast cancer. Based on the results of the first phase of the collaboration, GE Healthcare and Premier will next evaluate the potential and merits associated with adopting the One-Stop Clinic model in the United States. The companies have convened an advisory board to provide insight on the One-Stop Clinic model, as well as guidance and counsel on best approaches to redesign it for the U.S. market.
“It is incredibly worrying for patients to hear they have a suspicious finding on their mammogram,” added Ben Newton, General Manager of Global Oncology at GE Healthcare. “In some cases, they have to anxiously wait for a follow-up exam that could take weeks to happen. The One-Stop Clinic is a unique model for cancer centers, offering immediate answers to patients and their loved ones. Based on the success of the clinic in France, we are excited to work with the Premier Applied Sciences team to explore opportunities to develop a similar model in the United States.”
To date, more than 20,000 women have participated in this program, and 75 percent of women leave with their diagnosis on the same day. The idea and design of the clinic were pioneered by Suzette Delaloge, MD, an oncologist and head of the Breast Cancer Department at Gustave Roussy.
