SilverSummit Healthplan, a leading managed care plan that provides quality health insurance to Nevadans through the state, announced early results from “Project Accelerate,” an innovative program to treat women with breast cancer.
Project Accelerate streamlines the breast cancer care process by expediting diagnostic imaging, biopsy, and specialist referrals. The program facilitates ultrasounds or diagnostic mammograms within three days of detection, ensures rapid reporting of results, and coordinates timely appointments with surgeons and oncologists, often within days.
“Numerous studies show that a woman’s breast cancer survival rate decreases if she has delays in care,” said Dr. Steven Evans, Chief Medical Officer of SilverSummit Healthplan. “We are honored to partner on this program, which is essential in helping women members get the treatments they need as quickly as possible.”
Prior to the implementation of Project Accelerate, women diagnosed with breast cancer in Nevada could wait up to two months to begin treatment. On average, women across the state still face treatment delays of approximately 68 days, regardless of insurance type.
Since its launch, Project Accelerate has served 661 patients. To date, the program has supported 661 abnormal screening mammograms, facilitated 218 biopsies, 17 High Risk members and identified 35 patients with positive cancer diagnoses through biopsy.
As a result of the program’s coordinated approach, the time from a positive biopsy to treatment has been reduced from 66 days to just 17 days. For patients with highly suspicious lesions, the time to biopsy has been reduced from more than 100 days to just nine days. Additionally, the timeframe from an abnormal mammogram to biopsy has been shortened to 12 days, down from more than 100 days previously.
Based on existing clinical history, SilverSummit Healthplan estimates that Project Accelerate has already saved a handful of lives by significantly reducing delays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
Project Accelerate was developed in partnership in southern Nevada with Steinberg Diagnostics, Simon Med, local Southern Nevada breast surgeons, and Quest Diagnostics, using Xpedite, MD as the medical and software platform. It also has additional resources, such as Nurse Practitioners and Cancer Care Navigators. Project Accelerate expediates treatment for women once breast cancer has been detected.
“This is a remarkable partnership, and we are extremely proud to support women as they begin their treatment journey,” said Eric Schmacker, plan president and CEO of SilverSummit Healthplan. “Our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable coverage for Nevada residents, and by leveraging local, regional, and community-based resources, we are improving outcomes for the communities we serve.”
About SilverSummit Healthplan
SilverSummit Healthplan (SilverSummit) is a managed care plan that provides health insurance to the people of Nevada. Established in 2017, SilverSummit exists to improve the health of its members through focused, compassionate and coordinated care. SilverSummit is a Centene Corporation company. For more information, visit www.silversummithealthplan.com or visit silversummithealthplan.com/caringforNV.
