Monogram Health today announced the launch of the Monogram Kidney Care Clinic, which will provide industry-leading access to patients facing kidney disease. The clinic allows those with kidney disease to receive preventive renal care as early as possible and allows for ready access to renal specialists for those with urgent kidney-related needs.
Currently operating in 10 states, the Monogram Kidney Care Clinic serves a growing national cohort of high-risk chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) members enrolled in Medicare Advantage and managed Medicaid plans, following enactment of the 21st Century Cures Act. The clinic provides access to patients through in-home and virtual visits conducted by its team of kidney-focused physicians, nurse practitioners and other clinicians. The clinic's telehealth capabilities will enable greater access for all kidney disease patients, including those living in remote or rural areas without local renal specialists.
"The Monogram Kidney Clinic complements our managed care services, by increasing access to nephrology services for those who need it," said Chris Booker, a partner at Frist Cressey Ventures and co-founder of Monogram Health. "The clinic helps ease a national shortage in renal services, leading to more preventive medicine and greater access to urgent care for those with CKD and ESRD. By providing upstream care to patients dealing with early onset of kidney disease, we are taking on one of the toughest challenges in healthcare. As our board chairman, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, and heart surgeon Bill Frist has said, 'Healthcare, in its simplest of forms, is people helping people.' That's the mission of the clinic."
Early nephrologist engagement helps patients to understand kidney disease, delay its progress and engage in early planning for renal replacement therapy or conservative care. The Monogram Kidney Clinic will collaborate with nephrology practices across the country that are part of the Monogram Health nephrology care management network, acting as a supplementary access point to those patients already seen by a care management network nephrologist. "Our care managers serve as extensions of our partner nephrologists' practices. Our clinic will do the same for those for practices that are working with Monogram to promote evidence-based care management," said Kyle Cooksey, Monogram Kidney Care's Senior Vice President and Administrative Officer.
"Our services are designed for kidney disease patients who are too sick for a standard primary care physician but are earlier in the progression of kidney disease than the average patient who first sees a nephrologist," Cooksey said. "We also offer an urgent point of care for those with CKD and ESRD who are already under the care of a nephrologist. Our approach was developed by our team of industry leading nephrologists to harness the potential of our evidence-based dialysis criteria, best-in-class order sets and specialty services. But our biggest drivers are compassion and personalized kidney care."
According to industry data, 30% of patients who experience kidney failure have never seen a nephrologist and 43% of CKD stage IV patients are unaware of their disease progression. Today, the prevalence of kidney disease is 1.5 times higher in Hispanic populations, and African Americans represent the highest affected group with 3.7 times the national average.
"Our focus is on improved health outcomes. We apply evidence-based criteria and use this to guide patients to the right care pathway. We promote planned dialysis starts, increase the use of home dialysis modalities and decrease unnecessary hospitalizations," said Dr. Shaminder Gupta, Monogram Kidney Care's Chief Medical Officer. "The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for high-quality, in-home access to kidney health services. Monogram Kidney Care Clinic provides it."
Monogram Kidney Care Clinic's services are used by health plans across the country that serve Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Commercial members. The clinic expects to be operating in a total of 20 states within the first half of 2021 and to serve thousands of health plan members. Based on national trends, the company estimates at least 50 percent of those members will not have seen a nephrologist in at least 12 months, making them ideal patients for engagement through Monogram Kidney Clinic.
To learn more about Monogram Kidney Care, please visit monogramhealth.com/care-clinic.
