Kidney Population Health Leader's Scientific Advisory Board Supports Patient-Centered Care, Delivering Improvements in Quality, Outcomes, and Cost Savings.
JANUARY 23, 2020, TAMPA, FLORIDA — Healthmap Solutions, a rapidly growing national Population Health Management (PHM) company with a flagship Kidney Health Management (KHM) program, announced today that it has expanded its Scientific Advisory Board to include endocrinology and psychology, two fields critical to the early identification, care, and treatment of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and its more serious disease state, End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The new additions bring added expertise to an already stellar Board of Scientific Advisors with extensive experience in nephrology, cardiology, internal medicine, pharmacy, and integrated healthcare management.
“Healthmap Solutions’ Kidney Health Management (KHM) program is built on a strong clinical foundation of evidence-based medicine, standards of care, and the experience and expertise of our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Joe Vattamattam, Healthmap Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer. “The expansion of our Scientific Advisory Board further enhances our work and our ability to deliver the most comprehensive patient-specific care recommendations that improve quality and outcomes for the patients we serve while reducing costs for our health plan and at-risk provider partners.”
The Healthmap Solutions’ Scientific Advisory Board was instituted in 2014 and has grown to include six clinicians. Elizabeth Prence, Ph.D Healthmap Solutions' Chief Clinical Quality Officer, leads the Scientific Advisory Board whose members include:
Robert Cooper, M.D.; attending Physician in the Department of Endocrinology at Baystate Medical Center. Dr. Cooper specializes in all areas of endocrinology including thyroid disorders, diabetes, adrenal, pituitary, and lipid disorders of metabolism and osteoporosis;
James Davis, M.D.; FACP, FASN, a Nephrologist who specializes in interventional nephrology and is experienced in dialysis/vascular access placement. He is the Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Nephrology Division, Department of Internal Medicine at Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri;
Joel Forman, M.D.; a Cardiologist in clinical practice with The Christ
Hospital Heart and Vascular Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Areas of interest include preventive cardiology/cardiovascular wellness, stress testing, echocardiography, and lipidology;
Stuart Levine, M.D.; Operating Partner at Chicago Health Founders, Director, Google Health, Founder Agilon Health, Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, and a resident expert on Population Health;
Thomas Nolin, PharmD, Ph.D.; tenured Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine who specializes in nephrology;
Tom Warnes, Ph.D.; a leading national healthcare executive with
extensive experience in integrated care management strategies that
leverage medical, behavioral, and provider initiatives aimed at
reducing waste and improving quality.
The Scientific Advisory Board serves as the “clinical brain” for COMPASS, Healthmap Solutions' proprietary HITRUST certified and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) pre-validated Population Health Management (PHM) platform. COMPASS uses artificial intelligence and advanced machine learning to predict who is at risk for CKD and/or disease progression, and those at risk for preventable and planned events like dialysis. It then generates the most clinically appropriate and patient-specific care recommendations to proactively intervene and care for patients, driving down costs and improving the quality of care and outcomes.
Early intervention represents the single most effective means of stemming the progression of CKD, keeping patients healthy and lowering the cost of care. CKD is a progressive disease with no known cure that affects 37 million people in the U.S., most of whom remain unaware of it until they need more aggressive treatment. More than 726,000 Americans have irreversible kidney failure or ESRD and need dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. In 2016, Medicare costs for caring for all people with all stages of CKD were $114 billion.
“Every day, in my clinical practice over the past 15 years, I have seen patients suffer from ESRD. There has been no measurable improvement in mortality for the same time frame. We can do better, of this I am certain," said Dr. James Davis. “Healthmap Solutions’ Scientific Advisory Board is searching for ways to make a difference for these patients, that is why I choose to serve.”
Key to disrupting the CKD to ESRD pipeline is intervening when patients are diagnosed with CKD "gateway" conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. In fact, diabetes and high blood pressure alone are responsible for 75% of ESRD diagnosis between 2014-2016.
“As an endocrinologist treating a large volume of diabetic patients, I wanted to become involved in an organization focused on managing one of the most important and devastating complications of diabetes, CKD,” said Dr. Robert Cooper.
Dr. Joel Forman added, “Chronic renal disease is a significant and under-appreciated risk factor for major adverse cardiovascular outcomes. After years of practicing cardiology at the individual patient level, I welcomed the opportunity to have a broader impact on disease management in an at-risk population that can consume a large amount of healthcare resources. The quality and depth of the program are outstanding, and I have gained great satisfaction being part of a team that has been able to improve lives and decrease costs of care."
The Healthmap Solutions’ Scientific Advisory Board regularly meets to review and assess recent developments in evidence-based guidelines and standards of care. They play an active role in the development and critical oversight of all clinical aspects of the Healthmap Solutions’ Kidney Health Management program.
"While the important work done by the Scientific Advisory Board happens behind the scenes, it is critical to Healthmap Solutions' ability to deliver the right care, at the right time, in the right place for patients living with CKD and ESRD," said Dr. Prence. "We are grateful to our Scientific Advisory Board members for their time and commitment to the important work we do every day for our patients living with Kidney Disease."
About Healthmap Solutions healthmapsolutions.com
Healthmap Solutions is a population health management company with a specific solution for kidney patients, serving health plans, including Medicare Advantage and employer-sponsored plans, as well as accountable care organizations (ACOs) and provider groups seeking value-based solutions that improve the clinical care and financial performance for high-risk, high-cost kidney patient populations. The company has a rich history forged in data and analytics, having begun as a healthcare data clearinghouse, adding robust healthcare analytics expertise, and today Healthmap Solutions uses that experience to power complex Kidney Health Management programs with its clinical experts. The company also provides similar integrated programs across a full range of specialty population health management. For more information: healthmapsolutions.com
Contact:
Chris Cooney
(407) 921-6932
chris@wilmarkgroup.com
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