DCI Seeks to Improve Delivery of Kidney Care

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Oct. 7, 2015 - PRLog -- Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (DCI), the nation’s largest non-profit dialysis provider, has established three ESRD Seamless Care Organizations (ESCOs), groups of health care providers and suppliers, to test and evaluate a new model of payment and care delivery specific to Medicare beneficiaries with kidney failure under the new Comprehensive End-Stage Renal Disease Care (CEC) Model.

“When DCI heard about the opportunity to explore a different approach to the traditional kidney care model, we were very interested in learning how this could improve patient care,” said Doug Johnson, MD, vice chairman of Dialysis Clinic, Inc. “Within our ESCOs we have implemented care coordinator positions to streamline care for new and high risk dialysis patients as well as developed partnerships with community providers that will seamlessly meet patient needs that were once difficult to coordinate.”

Dialysis patients have intricate health needs that are typically addressed by a variety of health care providers. More often than not, the care a patient receives is not coordinated among providers. One major expectation of the CEC Model is a demonstration of how to enhance care coordination to provide a more patient-centered care experience that should, ultimately, improve a patient’s health.

While preparations for the ESCO began with the original CMS announcement in 2013, the program officially launched on October 1, 2015. DCI will operate three of the ESCO models approved by CMS.

The Music City Kidney Care Alliance will operate in the Middle Tennessee area. Music City Kidney Care Alliance partners include Adel Saleh, MD; Alive Hospice, Inc.; Aspire Health Medical Partners of Middle Tennessee, PC; Nephrology Associates, PC; The Surgical Clinic, PLLC; and Dialysis Clinic, Inc. The Music City Kidney Care Alliance serves a population of approximately 500 Medicare ESRD beneficiaries in the Middle Tennessee area.

The Palmetto Kidney Care Alliance serves a population of approximately 360 Medicare ESRD beneficiaries in Upstate South Carolina. Partners include Gentiva Health Services, Spartanburg Nephrology Associates, and Dialysis Clinic, Inc.

Approximately 400 Medicare ESRD beneficiaries in Central New Jersey and Staten Island will be served by the Liberty Kidney Care Alliance. The community providers that have formed a partnership under Liberty Kidney Care Alliance include the Associated Renal and Hypertension Group, PC;  Highland Park Surgical Associates,  PA; Hypertension and Nephrology Specialists, LLC; Mehdi Naqui, MD; Montgomery Nephrology & Hypertension Associates, PC; Toros Kapoian, MD; and Dialysis Clinic, Inc.

ESCO owners are clinically and financially responsible for all care offered to patients in the ESCO programs, not just dialysis care or care specifically related to a patient’s kidney disease.

Medicare patients receiving dialysis treatment in a DCI facility participating in an ESCO will receive a notification letter alerting them to the new model of care. Patients will not experience a change in their health insurance coverage or benefit options.

More information about the CEC Initiative can be found at:

http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/comprehensive-ESRD-care/