ASCO has certified its first virtual cancer clinic from Color, a company that owns and operates a nationwide, oncologist-led Virtual Cancer Clinic, serving employer, union, health plan, and public sector populations. The ASCO Certified status indicates that the virtual practice meets a high set of quality and safety standards for patient-centered care.
"AI is transforming cancer care quickly, so we evolved our ASCO Certified program to support virtual clinics that use it to expand access to care. We're glad Color was willing to be the first virtual clinic to participate in our expanded program," said Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, CEO of ASCO. "By focusing on the patient—whether virtual or in person—ASCO Certified supports the receipt of coordinated, evidence-based care."
"This is a notable moment for cancer care," said Othman Laraki, CEO of Color. "Every patient should have access to the best cancer care. We built the Color Virtual Cancer Clinic to augment traditional oncology, using technology and AI to make cancer expertise more accessible before, during, and after cancer. Going through the ASCO Certified program made us better—and we hope the program will be just as beneficial for other virtual providers."
About Color's Virtual Cancer Clinic
The Virtual Cancer Clinic is powered by Color Medical's 50-state, oncologist-led medical group. The practice matches services provided by traditional care models as well as multidisciplinary review, specialist access, close collaboration with the full oncologic team caring for the patient, and language support, all with nationwide reach for greater access.
The virtual practice was created to support patients with coordinated care through the full cancer journey, from screening and prevention through diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. The Virtual Cancer Clinic uses technology and artificial intelligence (AI), through collaborations with OpenAI and Google, to expand access and support better clinical decision-making. Individuals gain access to Color through their employer or health plan, with more than 1 million individuals having access as of 2026.
Color Health noted that its Virtual Cancer Clinic has already helped to identify cancers earlier by increasing adherence by 77% to cancer screening guidelines; lowered the cost of direct clinical services, including specialist visits and lab tests; reduced time to treatment initiation after an abnormal screening result by 66% due to AI-enabled workflows and multidisciplinary care; and provided ongoing proactive multidisciplinary review for all cancer cases.
About ASCO Certified Status
ASCO Certified is a certification program for outpatient oncology group practices and health systems, indicating that the practice or system has met a set of evidence-based Oncology Medical Home (OMH) standards, as set by ASCO and the Community Oncology Alliance (COA). The standards focus on areas of patient engagement; availability and access to care; evidence-based medicine; comprehensive team-based care; quality improvement; antineoplastic therapy safety; and palliative, end-of-life care, and goals of care discussions.
All practices or systems go through a six-step process to be certified, including a site survey and quality measure assessment. ASCO Certified practices receive recognition as preferred quality providers, ongoing improvement support, participation in a learning collaborative, and more.
