Avera Health, a regional union of healthcare professionals dedicated to providing patient support services, and Elekta, a biotechnology company focused on cancer and brain disease solutions, have announced a strategic alliance to enhance cancer care in South Dakota, Minnesota and the surrounding areas.
The partnership will allow the companies to join resources and expertise to implement the MOSAIQ oncology information system across the Avera Cancer Institute, which will equip Avera with a cloud-based resource that covers the entire cancer care continuum beginning with prevention up to palliative care and rehabilitation.
Elekta will be providing several of its proprietary technologies such as linear accelerators Versa HD and Elekta Infinity; Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion and brachytherapy solutions; Monaco treatment planning and METRIQ cancer registry software – all made conveniently accessible via cloud computing.
“Being chosen by comprehensive cancer networks, such as Avera Health, further demonstrates Elekta’s leadership in oncology information systems,” Jay Hoey, Elekta’s Executive Vice President of Region North America said in a press release. “We are excited to be collaborating with this leader in cancer therapy.”
Dave Kapaska, DO, Regional President and CEO of Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center and administrative leader of the Avera Health cancer service line, is confident the partnership will strengthen the company’s efforts in providing patients and families evidence-based, world-class cancer care in all Avera Cancer Institute sites. The cloud-based system will ensure Avera’s oncologists and allied health team members have easy remote access to patient records and cancer registries.
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Dr. Michael Peterson, a Radiation Oncologist at Avera Health, is eager to bring Elekta’s cutting edge services to their patients, especially with the Versa HD and Perfexion’s highly-advanced stereotactic treatment delivery, which will allow oncologists to perform radiotherapy faster, and with more precision.
One of the side effects of radiotherapy is radiation dermatitis, which manifests as localized skin sensitivity, pain, ulceration, and even necrosis and fibrosis. For many cancer patients, it causes delays in treatment, which greatly reduces the desired dose effect and can seriously affect disease outcome. Irving, Texas-based Reata Pharmaceuticals recently gave an exclusive interview with Radiation Therapy News on their experimental lotion for radiation dermatitis, PRIMROSE on the enrolment of its first patient for a Phase 2 study, and the encouraging findings from the lotion’s completed Phase 1 study.
