A man of unquestionable integrity who passionately advocates for and delivers accessible healthcare and service to diverse and often underserved patient sectors. A full-time practicing medical oncologist, board-certified in hematology, oncology, and internal medicine, Dr. Patel also volunteers with many other leading national cancer and quality organizations. The accolades are numerous:

• President of the Community Oncology Alliance
• Consultant Medical Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC
• A Citizens Advisory Committee Member for Department of Health & Human Services (SC) and Palmetto GBA
• Medical Director of the International Oncology Network
• Chair for the Biosimilars and Clinical Affairs Committee for the Association of Community Cancer Centers
• Past-president of the South Carolina Oncology Society
• Frequent Expert Testimonials before State and National Legislative Bodies

With extensive expertise in value-based care, Dr. Patel has successfully led multiple oncology payment pilots in his practice and consulted on others across the state and nation. He has published or presented more than 70 original articles and abstracts in journals and/or meetings (nationally and internationally). Through this work, Dr. Patel received research merit awards for cancer research, including ASCO merit awards during his fellowship. He is interviewed by multiple organizations as a subject matter expert in the value-based care, biosimilars, healthcare disparities and end of life care and the oncology care model.

Dr. Patel is at the forefront of the transition from Volume-to-Value. Four years prior to widespread awareness of the issue of increased cost of care, Dr. Patel initiated a transformation from volume-to-value at his practice with the intent of delivering more patient centric care for his patients. As such, by the time that awareness arrived at the national level, his practice had already achieved the goals targeted by the new approach to medicine. By utilizing biosimilars, providing after-hours care to reduce patient hospitalizations, and by improving care coordination, Dr. Patel’s practice was able to reduce spending at his practice in 2019 by $2.4 million and reduce his patient’s hospitalization by 24%.

Two years ago, Dr. Patel created an initiative called No One Left Alone (NOLA) that may allow him to make his greatest contributions yet to help people. Through the NOLA Foundation, which is now a nonprofit organization, Dr. Patel is creating and testing programs to help disadvantaged patients at CBCCA receive cutting-edge cancer care, and through partnerships with local groups, providing food and shelter assistance.