Community Oncology Patients Benefit from In-House Laboratory Services

Fort Myers, Fla. (April 4, 2019) Established in 2017, American Oncology Partners, PA (AOP), under the management of the American Oncology Network, LLC (AON), is an alliance of physicians and seasoned health care leaders that provides a unique array of support services to its affiliated community-based oncology practices. With the advent of personalized cancer care, one of the most critical aspects of cancer treatment is a complete and accurate pathology report. The AOP Pathology Laboratory provides a precise diagnosis and helps physicians throughout the network determine the best treatment plan for each patient. AOP also provides centralized lab services, including clinical chemistry, tumor markers and immunochemistry testing.

AON CEO Brad Prechtl, MBA, said, “Through our in-house pathology lab, community oncology practices across the nation have access to the highest level of diagnostic accuracy. Our expert surgical pathologists and hematopathologists use state-of-the-art technologies and equipment to classify cancers and identify specific genes, proteins and genetic mutations that can drive tumor growth.”

Claudia French, MBA, MT(ASCP), AON Vice President of Laboratory Services and Operational Excellence explained, “Our labs are fully accredited, and we are able to deliver a broad range of pathology services, including bone marrow flow cytometry, peripheral blood flow, cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and histology, among others.  We also run the PAM-50 test, which is a molecular test for breast cancer prognostication. In the very near future, we will be offering additional molecular testing, including next-generation sequencing (NGS).”

Medical Co-Director of Laboratory Services Dr. Ryan Olson added, “It’s our goal to provide streamlined, integrated laboratory services to our AOP physicians. A unique and very rewarding aspect of our services is that our pathologists are directly integrated into patient care, such that we are the patients’ physicians along with their oncologists. We are in constant communication with the oncologists and assume an active role in test ordering, which results in extremely efficient turnaround times for our test results.”

Unlike what happens in reference labs or even academic medical centers, whenever an AOP pathologist sees a new diagnosis, he or she will add on and order the appropriate testing. By taking on this responsibility, we ensure that the proper testing is done and that any extra or unnecessary testing is avoided, thereby reducing turnaround time and costs.

In the not-too-distant future, AOP is planning to integrate next-generation sequencing (NGS) into its service offerings. NGS is a low-cost, high-speed DNA sequencing technology that has revolutionized genomic research and testing; with the use of NGS, an entire human genome can be sequenced in a single day.

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About American Oncology Network, LLC: (AONcology.com)

Founded in 2017, American Oncology Network, LLC (AON) and American Oncology Partners, PA (AOP) are an alliance of physicians and seasoned health care leaders partnering to ensure the long-term success of community oncology. The executive management team of AON brings more than three decades of oncology practice management experience, enabling physicians to focus on what matters most — providing the highest-quality care for patients.
The organization provides unique and comprehensive protocols for managing administrative procedures and enhancing ancillary services for its affiliates. AON is able to aggregate volume and attain economies of scale as it guides its AOP member physicians and practices through the transition to value-based reimbursement models that improve the patient experience and help to reduce the per-capita cost of cancer care.

AON also provides a unique model of physician-led, community-based oncology management. With services such as AOP’s centralized specialty pharmacy, diagnostics, pathology, fully integrated electronic medical records, a Care Management Team and a variety of financial assistance programs, an alliance with AON ensures that patients’ experiences will be at the very pinnacle of cancer care today.

For more information, contact:

American Oncology Network, LLC
Shelly Glenn
Chief Marketing & Sales Officer
Shelly.Glenn@AONcology.com
770.365.6168

ChappellRoberts
Katy Parsons, APR
KParsons@chappellroberts.com
727.542.0949

Ganick Communications, Inc.
Elaine Ganick
elaine@ganick.com
615.377.7877