Expert Teams, Exceptional Outcomes: AHN Cancer Institute’s Disease Site Centers Drive Innovation

David Bartlett, MD

AHN Cancer Institute’s Centers of Excellence unite teams of experts to provide patients with high-quality, collaborative care in a supportive environment.

At the AHN Cancer Institute, patient-centered care and culture are more than just words. They’re assurances directed at making oncology care the best possible experience for patients and their families.

This starts with understanding patients’ fears and their desire to receive treatments from experts in their type of cancer. AHN addresses these concerns by having new patients meet with their oncology physicians within three days of diagnosis to discuss treatment plans. This occurs at one appointment, at one location.

Patients are also guided through their entire cancer journey by nurse navigators, who provide a concierge-type service, making the care process easier for both patients and referring physicians.

“We want patients to know that, yes, we offer expert, high-quality care, but we’re also focused on their well-being,” said AHN Cancer Institute chair David Bartlett, MD. “They’ll be comforted here. It’s a friendly environment with empathetic caregivers who are also involved in some of the world’s most cutting-edge cancer research. These two things don’t need to be mutually exclusive.”

Centers of Excellence Are Difference Makers

To help patients achieve the best possible outcomes, AHN physicians work together. The Cancer Institute has 14 disease site Centers of Excellence. Each center consists of physicians from various disciplines — medical, surgical, and radiation oncology — all of whom specialize in that cancer type. The disease sites are:

• Breast​
• Colon and Rectal​
• Esophageal and Gastric​
• Genitourinary​
• Gynecological​
• Head and Neck​
• Hematologic and Cellular Therapy​
• Liver​
• Lung and Pleural
• Melanoma and Skin​
• Molecular, Metastatic, and Rare​
• Neurological​
• Pancreatic​
• Sarcoma​

“These 14 multidisciplinary disease site expert teams are very unique in the region and in most of the country,” Dr Bartlett said. “This integrated and collaborative approach to care allows us to share knowledge, expertise, and guided access to second opinions, clinical trials, and research for the best possible outcomes for each patient.”

The disease site teams meet regularly at “tumor boards” where they review complex cases, ensuring that patients with difficult-to-treat cancers benefit from diverse perspectives.

Everyone Stays Connected for Patients

The AHN Cancer Institute has expanded its footprint over the last decade so patients can receive their care close to home or work. There are 23 locations throughout western Pennsylvania, all of which stay connected to the programs and teams at the institute’s academic hub hospitals.

“This is another way that AHN is a little different. In many other top-notch academic institutions, when they bring a patient into a hub, they want to hold onto that patient — they don’t send them back to the community,” Dr Bartlett said.

“With AHN’s system, it’s 100% collaborative. We have no problem sending people back and forth. So, it’s not a case of either/or, it’s having both community-based care and a large hub available and making decisions around what the patient needs at any given point.”

To refer a patient to the AHN Cancer Institute, call (412) 578-HOPE.