One of the goals of UC Davis Health System's outreach initiative is to enhance access to high-quality specialty services in outlying communities through partnerships with community-based hospitals and physicians. To make advanced cancer care services available to smaller communities, the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Cancer Center established the UC Davis Cancer Care Network. Current network members include four hospital-based cancer centers in Northern and Central California: Fremont-Rideout Cancer Center in Marysville, Mercy Cancer Center in Merced, Regional Cancer Center at ValleyCare in Pleasanton and Tahoe Forest Cancer Center in Truckee.

The network is designed to connect community medical oncologists with UC Davis cancer specialists to help patients receive specialty consultations and advanced treatment modalities, including clinical trials, while staying in their local communities.

Telemedicine is used to link all of these cancer centers for patient consultation, case management, quality review and continuing education. Via telemedicine, regional cancer center physicians can consult with UC Davis specialists on patient-care issues and conduct consultations with patients. Physicians and other clinical staff have access to UC Davis tumor board meetings, grand rounds, and continuing medical and nursing education. The system is also used to maintain quality communications between the regional centers and the UC Davis Cancer Center.

"These affiliations give us an opportunity to extend our academic cancer center programs to help people in outlying areas," said Thomas Nesbitt, director of the Center for Health and Technology. "The UC Davis Health System has long-standing commitments to improving access to health care to the residents of Northern and Central California. Working with local cancer care providers through the development of regional cancer centers organized under the umbrella of the UC Davis Cancer Care Network in these outlying areas supports this goal."

For more information, please contact Patricia Keast, regional affiliations officer, at patricia.keast@udmc.ucdavis.edu or (916) 734-0754.