BY GLORIA BUTLER BALDWIN

Pictured at the ribbon cutting: (L-R): Mr. Sam Goi; Dr. Jau-Fei Chen; Mr. Yeoh Keat Chuan; Dr. Lee Schwartzberg; and Dr. Steven Tucker.

In a joint venture with Excellence Healthcare in Singapore, Memphis-based The West Clinic, renowned for its community-based, comprehensive approach to cancer research and treatment, has announced its opening of The West Clinic Excellence Cancer Center in the Southeast Asia hub.

Not only will the center provide comprehensive multidisciplinary treatments for cancer, but it will do so with the aid of United States experts in oncology research and treatment and with state-of-the-art technology such as positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET/CT).

The center will also be the first facility to implement the PACE System™ (Patient Assessment, Care, and Education), a revolutionary information technology developed by Supportive Oncology Services, Inc., which enhances patient care and improves quality of life through an exchange of information between patient and physician at point-of-care.

According to The West Clinic medical director Dr. Lee S. Schwartzberg, who also serves as president and chief medical officer of the Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network (ACORN), a United States-based network of more than 150 oncology investigators, Singapore was a perfect location to expand its brand of community-based, comprehensive oncology services.

"The West Clinic has a long history of doing innovative projects and outreach in the U.S.," Schwartzberg said. "We have a lot of experience in taking our brand of community oncology and leveraging that to venues in small rural sites and large practices.

"With that background, we had some of the people in the clinic who had developed business relationships over the years with individuals in Singapore, and there was a discussion by those individuals that The West Clinic brand of community oncology would be very useful in Asia. That sent us on a series of fact-finding trips last year. Singapore was an excellent place for us to start a center in Asia because of several things.

"It is very Western-oriented. English is the national language. The government is very supportive of health initiatives, and in fact has made a priority to create the biomedical hub of this century and has developed highly in biotech, drug developments and in scientific research. The quality of medical care in Singapore, in general, is good. We found an excellent partner who had already established a clinic with a Western physician, so that was favorable and they already had a good building in a nice part of the city."

Schwartzberg said another contributing factor is that Singapore is a hub for medical travelers. Three-quarters of the world's population lives within a six-hour plane ride to Singapore.

"When you think about it, it's just a great place to try and take our model that we've developed over 25 years of providing comprehensive cancer care in a warm environment," he said.

Dr. Steven J. Tucker, former director of the Prostate & Genitourinary Oncology Program with The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Santa Monica, Calif., attending physician with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and assistant clinical professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has relocated his family indefinitely to Singapore to serve as The West Clinic Excellence Cancer Center's medical director. Since its opening last week, Tucker said 15 new patients have been seen.

"Singapore's Ministry of Health has demonstrated its commitment to deliver outstanding medical care, promote health, and reduce illness for Singaporean residents," stated Tucker. "We're pleased to partner with Excellence Healthcare, an outstanding subspecialty medical center."

If all continues to go well in Singapore, other locations could be on the horizon.

"We've already had numerous parties take an interest in The West Clinic brand to other parts of Asia," Schwartzberg said. "The most likely place we would go next would be to China. We're actually evaluating an opportunity right now in Shanghai, depending on how this first venture goes. We're committed to building an unprecedented research network in Southeast Asia through the Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network (ACORN), in collaboration with local oncology providers and major healthcare institutions."

Yeoh Keat Chuan, deputy director of Biomedical Sciences Group, Economic Development Board in Singapore, said they are very pleased that The West Clinic has chosen Singapore for The West Clinic Excellence Cancer Center in partnership with Excellence Healthcare.

"The West Clinic is a renowned U.S. cancer center whose presence here will enhance our standing as a premier location for the delivery of quality healthcare services and support the Singapore Medicine initiative. It will also strengthen Singapore's capabilities in translational research," Chuan said.



November 2006