AMI and Salick to Develop 3 Cancer Centers

American Medical International and Salick Health Care on Tuesday announced plans to jointly develop at least three outpatient cancer centers near AMI hospitals.

The cancer-care networks will offer diagnostic and therapeutic services and are expected to cost $15 million each. Patient care will be provided by specialists practicing at AMI hospitals.

Officials of the Los Angeles-based health-care companies said the locations and opening dates will be announced this fall.

Each network will have three components: a specialized treatment center to be built next to an AMI hospital; “mini” facilities for less acute care, which may be in nearby hospitals, and detection centers in such places as shopping centers and office parks where people will fill out questionnaires to uncover warning signs of illness.

“The networks will ensure that cancer patients receive the appropriate level of care at all times and will help eliminate unnecessary hospitalization,” said Walter Weisman, president of AMI. “This type of venture is consistent with AMI’s philosophy to provide consumers and third-party payers with high-quality, cost-effective medical care.”

Randy Huyser, a health-care analyst with Montgomery Securities in San Francisco, said that, from an investment standpoint, the announcement appeared to have little immediate significance for AMI because the cancer centers would be a minor part of the company’s operations.

Huyser said the cancer-clinic approach could become a major part of Salick’s business. The company established its first outpatient cancer center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on July 1. Salick mainly provides kidney dialysis services and distributes medical supplies.

The announcement appears to be partly a response to the federal government’s policy of restricting payments to hospitals for inpatient stays by Medicare recipients.

Under the system, phased in over the last two years, hospitals may lose money if a Medicare patient stays in the hospital beyond a prescribed length of time. Medicare coverage would apply to the outpatient centers, AMI said.