Is a medical Center of Excellence the right choice for you?

For many common medical issues, from high blood pressure and diabetes management to gallbladder removal or simple broken bones, a local community hospital can offer appropriate, quality care close to home or work. But if you’re diagnosed with a serious, complex, or rare condition, you need a higher level of both expertise and care. The expertise of specialists at a Center of Excellence can help ensure you receive an accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment plan so you can achieve the best outcome.

What is a Center of Excellence?

Medical centers of excellence are top-ranked medical facilities and academic research centers that excel in the delivery of specialized medical services, treatments, and patient care. They also focus on advancing their field of expertise through research, innovative approaches to care, and educational excellence, teaching the next generation of healthcare specialists and researchers, and developing breakthrough treatments. Centers of excellence usually focus on a few types of conditions, like cancer, organ transplantation, rare pediatric diseases, or genetic conditions, rather than providing care for all conditions like community and general hospitals do.

At a Center of Excellence, the physicians and staff have more in-depth training and more extensive experience treating certain conditions and diseases. They also treat a higher number of patients with these conditions, which has been associated with better outcomes for patients.

The impact of receiving care at a Center of Excellence

A recent study published in Nature looked at the outcomes of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer and the impact that the volume of surgeries their treating surgeon had performed had on their outcomes. They discovered that the patients whose surgery was performed by higher volume surgeons had better outcomes.

Data gathered by Leapfrog, a national non-profit that collects and analyzes healthcare data, has consistently found that patients who have surgeries at higher volume hospitals performed by higher volume surgeons experience better outcomes than patients who received their care at lower volume centers with surgeons who perform fewer surgeries. The patients at the higher volume centers experienced fewer complications, had a lower risk of death, and spent less time in the hospital.

“PinnacleCare works with more than 130 centers of excellence located all across the U.S. Among these centers are international leaders in their fields, including Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Duke University Medical Center for cancer care; Cleveland Clinic for cardiac care; and Northwestern Medicine for complex urologic conditions,” says Kim Nokes Maldonado, director of Clinical Relations at PinnacleCare. “These centers of excellence have highly experienced physicians and staff, the latest diagnostic and treatment technology, and clinical trials of promising treatments. Because of our relationships with these centers of excellence, PinnacleCare members have access to the best experts in the world who provide their assessment on the member’s diagnosis in a comprehensive manner and deliver personalized treatment focused on that member’s condition and treatment goals. All these factors can have a significant positive impact on outcomes.”

PinnacleCare member story

Care from a Center of Excellence made a life-saving difference for one PinnacleCare member. She was undergoing surveillance as part of her treatment for blood cancer and experiencing inflammation in her lymph nodes. She was seen at her local hospital, where the physicians ruled out the spread of her cancer. After coming to her PinnacleCare Health Advisor with concern, our Medical Directors reviewed her records and recommended further assessment. PinnacleCare reached out to an experienced specialist, the head of Oncology at a Center of Excellence.

The specialist found that the member, unfortunately, had significant spread of her cancer and she immediately began aggressive treatment. If she had not received a second opinion from the Center of Excellence, she may have received no treatment and the cancer would have continued to spread unchecked.

Get support from PinnacleCare

Whether dealing with a cancer diagnosis or other serious condition, having a team behind you to support you through your diagnosis and treatment is imperative to better outcomes. Getting you to the right care at the right time by the most qualified provider is what PinnacleCare does best. Reach out to our team to learn more.

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