Michael Thursby, DO
Nephrology Associates of Rhode Island (NARI)
The expansion of the Medicare Kidney Care Choices and Comprehensive Kidney Care Contracting (CKCC) pushed us to consider potential partners. To become a Kidney Care First (KCF) practice was a daunting task to a small nephrology practice without the tools necessary to manage moving into value-based care and risk-sharing contracts.
Admittedly, we had been avoiding how to deal with CKCC. When we connected with Panoramic Health, there was a sense of relief that someone can do it for us. Panoramic Health had a proven platform that was already established and in use, that we could move right into without too much difficulty.
In addition to the platform and the billing system to transition to the CKCC model, they brought other benefits: management that takes the everyday hassles of running an 11-person practice off the table so we can focus on our patients.
They’ve also connected us with other nephrologists around research and I’m really excited about a research idea that’s going to seemingly grow pretty quickly. The ideas and ways that nephrologists across the country can work together as a team instead of as a group of two or five or 10…such an interesting concept for us! That connection is real value – hundreds of physicians and counting, aligned with similar goals, shared data and new ideas. It’s exciting.
We also believe Panoramic Health will lead to better patient care. With Panoramic Health, we can track our patients through the analytics platform. They have nurses and care coordinators who will use our analytics to come back and tell us what our patients need and say, “We can help you with transplant referrals, fistulas and different care goals that can be met.”
[Our practice is] currently just physicians. There are no medical assistants or nurses. So, those added nurses and care coordinators add significant value to our patients as well as to our physicians.
Panoramic Health has a framework and platform the I believe will stand the test of time. Today, we need help with CKCC, but unlike some of the other companies that have popped up, I’m confident Panoramic Health will help us in the years to come as the industry continues to evolve and we grow. Panoramic Health will be a leader in nephrology and analytics for years to come.
