Oncology Medical Home
We are an accredited Oncology Medical Home, the first in the nation and the only one in New Mexico.
We led the way with a major Medicare Innovation Center grant in 2012 awarded to Dr. Barbara McAneny, to develop the COME HOME Model ("Community Oncology Medical Home"), a new model for oncology care that results in better outcomes, higher patient satisfaction and lower cost. This was so successful that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) based its new Oncology Care Model on the basic principles of COME HOME. When the Commission on Cancer developed a certification for new oncology medical homes, New Mexico Cancer Center was the very first practice in the nation to be certified.
As much as we are very proud of the official certification, we believe that a medical home means much more.
A medical home means that we are committed to providing you with the services that you need, when you need them, doing as much of that as possible in our outpatient facilities, and coordinating your care with other doctors and services.
Here's what that includes:
- Team Approach: Our patients don’t just see one person – they see a team of professionals who work together to provide care and comfort. By working closely together, we can catch problems early.
- Same Day Appointments, Extended Hours: We are open until 6 p.m. during the week, and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, to manage acute care, treatment, symptoms and side effects in an outpatient setting. There is also a shot-clinic from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sundays. This helps our patients avoid long waits at urgent care and emergency rooms at a time when their immune system is not at its strongest.
- 24/7 Support: Our physicians are on call 24/7, and they always have access to your complete electronic medical record.
- Supportive, Caring Environment: We never want anyone to face cancer alone. We welcome family and friends throughout your care, and we designed New Mexico Cancer Center to be filled with light and beautiful artwork.
- Education: You will receive one-on-one education from an Oncology-certified nurse – getting the answers you need, when you need them.
- The Best Science: Care that is guided by pathways developed by oncology physicians, not insurance companies, to ensure that every patient gets the scientifically best, most up-to-date, individually tailored care.
- NCCN Guidelines: We adhere to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments.
- Chemotherapy Adherence Program: We never over-prescribe medications that are unnecessary or could be wasted. We only provide what a patient needs at the time, and we routinely assess their prescriptions to ensure everything is appropriate to their given treatment plan.
- Collaboration with other leading practices around the country.
- Clinical Trials & Research is an important part of ensuring that our patients have the ability to participate in active clinical trials; click on the link at the start of this paragraph for a lot more information.
- Accreditation by the Commission on Cancer, QOPI, and the American College of Radiology (see sidebar).
- Highly Specialized Care:
- Autologous Stem Cell Transplants: Our physicians were the first in New Mexico to perform this vital therapy for certain kinds of cancer, saving our patients a trip out-of-state for the procedure.
- PROVENGE Care for Prostate Cancer: We are the first facility in New Mexico to treat advanced prostate cancer patients with PROVENGE, designed to stimulate a patient’s immune system to identify and target prostate cancer cells.
- Advanced Radiation Therapy: State of the art radiation treatment available at our Cancer Center facilities in Albuquerque and Gallup.
- Going The Extra Mile for our patients:
- We fight with your insurance company so you don't have to.
- We will help you with co-pays and deductibles. In fact, by keeping you healthy and out of the hospital, our unique model of treatment can save you money on co-pays and out-of-pocket costs.
- Our NMCC Foundation helps qualified patients with non-medical expenses.
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One of our highest priorities: keeping you healthy, strong, functioning at the highest possible level – and out of the hospital.
If you are feeling ill, don't wait: please call us right away. We will strive to get you seen at NMCC almost immediately, do the necessary examinations and tests, and start appropriate intervention and therapy as quickly as possible. Most of the time, we will send you home feeling better that same day, with follow-up as needed, often daily, until you are better. We do not want you sitting for hours in a hospital emergency room, with delayed intervention, and exposure to hospital environments often filled with bacteria and viruses. We want you at home, with your family, getting the care you need when you need it.