This story is part of our “Reasons to Love Houston” package, published in the Spring 2025 issue.

Houston’s reputation as a global leader in cancer care draws thousands of patients to MD Anderson Cancer Center each year, many of them from out of state—around 45,000 of the 179,000 total in 2023 alone. Dr. Neema Navai, cochair of the institution’s Virtual Care platform, discusses how his team coordinates and streamlines care for long-distance patients.

What challenges do patients from out of town face?

A cancer diagnosis, or a concern about a possible cancer diagnosis, is in and of itself a big weight, and if you add the logistics of having to travel to seek the best possible care, it adds more complexity. There’s potentially prolonged periods
of time where [patients] might need to be in Houston for the specialized kind of care that can only happen within our walls. There’s unique challenges around identifying places they could stay [and] whether they’re going to be able to access the same kind of cultural services they’re used to at home. It adds a different layer and dimension. We benefit tremendously from being in a city that is so multicultural and so welcoming of outsiders, and that helps us a lot. We have a great amount of resources and dedicated teams within the institution that work tirelessly to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Are there particular programs for patients who aren’t in the Houston area?

Texas is a huge state—traveling from West Texas to Houston can mean a 10-hour drive, which is unbelievable. Virtual care has been a huge benefit to our patients so they can continue to access our services and take away some of the burden of traveling to Houston. It provides us with insight as to what [the] needs are going to be when patients arrive. We can coordinate clinical needs within just a few short days, as opposed to weeks. So, virtual care has been a big part of that. Our physician faculty are licensed in nine states outside of Texas so we can extend virtual care beyond the boundaries of the state. We’re continuing to invest heavily in our digital health footprint, to make that journey as seamless as possible for patients.

How else does MD Anderson use telemedicine?

We have a litany of other services that look at digital health tools beyond just virtual care visits. These are things like remote patient monitoring, which is a way that we can maintain clinical insights on patients while they’re outside our walls. We’re also doing early investigations into things like hospital-at-home programs.

Is the quality of care different between those in Houston and out-of-state patients who rely solely on virtual care?

It’s uncommon for a patient to be purely in a virtual care model. Our commitment to cancer outcomes is first and foremost, and that puts pressure on us to make sure we can provide those services. Virtual care is just one way that we augment our ability to do that, but it’s not in isolation. It’s a cohesive, holistic approach. When the patient’s needs can be addressed through virtual care, we’re more than happy to provide those services, but when a patient needs to be physically present, we obviously lean on our presence for those services.

What would you say to an out-of-state patient who is hesitant to come to MD Anderson because of the distance?

We have really robust opportunities for entry at MD Anderson. We’ve got amazing team members that can soften the burden and connect [patients] with wraparound services. If they need assistance with travel or housing arrangements, or just to understand more fully what they can anticipate [and] how long they’re going to need to be in Houston, those are all things we’re well oiled to help deliver on.

A look back on 84 years of medical progress at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

• 1941 Initially called the Texas State Cancer Hospital and the Division of Cancer Research, MD Anderson Cancer Center was established by the legislature as part of the University of Texas System, with a mission to end cancer.
• 1954 Adopted the use of the Cobalt-60 unit, designed in 1949 to improve precision in radiation therapy.
• 1971 MD Anderson became one of the first three comprehensive cancer centers designated under the National Cancer Act.
• 2001 The institution first earned Magnet Recognition for nursing.
• 2011 Scientists from MD Anderson and other institutions reported on the BATTLE trial, the first study using real-time biomarker analysis to personalize lung cancer treatments.
• 2012 MD Anderson introduced the Moon Shots Program to speed up scientific discoveries, focusing heavily on targeted cancer therapies.
• 2018 Dr. James P. Allison, executive director of the immunotherapy platform at MD Anderson, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work in immunotherapy.
• 2020 MD Anderson reported on the success of clinical trials for CAR NK cell therapy, an innovative treatment using engineered natural killer cells to target cancer.
• 2023 MD Anderson contributed to the development of 25 out of 43 FDA-approved cancer drugs, nearly 60 percent of the year’s new treatments.