Former Optum executive Dr. Pat Basu has been named CEO of Cancer Treatment Centers of America as it moves toward developing new businesses and forming new partnerships. Basu is replacing Rajesh Garg, who stepped down from the chief executive position in July.
Cancer Treatment Centers of America is a comprehensive network of hospitals and outpatient centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tulsa. CTCA specializes in treating adult cancer patients and offers qualified patients a range of clinical trials.
Basu's career has included serving as a White House adviser, Stanford University Medical Center physician and as senior vice president of Optum/UnitedHealthGroup. He helped start Doctor on Demand, which provides telehealth video visits for more than 30 million Americans.
Basu, 40, who also will serve on CTCA's national board of directors said he was honored to lead "a very storied organization that for 30-plus years has been dedicated to one of the most important medical fights of our lives—battling cancer."
"As we look to the future of CTCA, we're focused on the concept of patient empowerment and that every single patient is treated as an individual at our hospitals and outpatient clinics," CTCA Vice Chairman Darren Keller said.
Basu said America has reached an "incredible inflection point" in cancer care and health care as a whole, and that CTCA can serve as a model for patient-centric, high-quality, accessible care. To make that happen, Basu said he wants to strengthen and expand CTCA's current clinical services, develop new businesses and form new partnerships with "other great cancer institutions, other hospitals, physician groups, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies or employers."
Keller said CTCA is currently in discussions about clinical affiliations and buying additional outpatient clinics. "As we expand and continue to partner in the marketplace, there's a rich opportunity to see more patients on their own terms in a lower cost structure."
Basu's appointment to the chief executive position won praise from Tom Daschle, who served as a U.S. senator from 1987 to 2005. Daschle and Basu got to know each other in 2010 and 2011 through the White House Fellows program.
Daschle told Modern Healthcare that CTCA will benefit from Basu's resilience and his ability to innovate, collaborate and engage. "We're in a transformational time. There are going to be ups and downs and a lot of challenges, and having resilience as we confront these challenges is really important."
Amir Dan Rubin, CEO of the One Medical primary care network and former CEO of Stanford University Hospitals and Clinics, said Basu is a "dynamic and highly respected leader. I expect great things from him and CTCA."