LEWISTON — Central Maine Healthcare on Thursday announced a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital’s cancer center aimed at streamlining services for local patients who must receive care at the prestigious Boston hospital.

The aim is “fast, seamless care,” CMH spokesman Chuck Gill said.

The hospitals’ doctors are talking more, sharing more information and meeting face to face. And for patients, the goal is smoother care if they leave central Maine for Boston’s expertise and facilities.

Many cancer treatments, such as bone-marrow transplants, are not offered anywhere in Maine.

“We’re trying to make the experience more uniform,” said Nicholette Erickson, a medical oncologist at Central Maine Medical Center. “It’s been a great collaboration and we’ve been very pleased with it”

The relationship has been building for more than a year. It includes Central Maine Medical Center, Bridgton Hospital, Rumford Hospital and Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick.

Though some local doctors are acquainted with their Boston counterparts, activities such as making an appointment or transferring records, have been difficult. It always got done, but it wasn’t always simple, said Dr. Karen Ballen, the director of the leukemia program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

“We’ve always managed to provide the best care for patients. It’s just a question of how much oomph that takes” Ballen said. “If it takes a little less oomph, that’s always better.”

Treatments are being coordinated to maintain as much care as possible locally while still making use of Mass General.

For example, a Boston doctor might ask a patient to undergo a blood transfusion. Before, patients would be forced to make the two-hour drive south.

“We can do that here,” Erickson said.

When patients have to head south, the intent is to make it as comfortable as possible.

Marguerite Marston of Bridgton praised the coordinated care she has received since her diagnosis with leukemia about a year ago. She was treated by Erickson and Ballen and received a bone-marrow transplant at Massachusetts General.

Before going to Boston, she worried about the big-city care, she said. That worry quickly went away.

“I was welcomed with open arms,” she said. “They made it my home while I was there.”

Doctors at both hospitals are meeting monthly to discuss cases. Plans also include an arrangement for genetic counselors to come from Boston to meet with people in Lewiston. The counselors specialize in examining family medical histories and consulting on the dangers patients might face.

The biggest benefit could be the ease of communication that’s been building, whether by phone or e-mail, Erickson said.

“It’s really very nice to be able to pick up the phone, to call down to Mass General and Dr. Ballen or a different physician depending on the problem, and be able to get rapid feedback,” she said.

It also can result in quick appointments.

“Sometimes it’s urgent, as with leukemia,” Erickson said. “And sometimes it’s not urgent, but you don’t want to wait three months, either. It’s a commitment to access and a commitment to improved communication.”

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