DENVER, April 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nephrology Care Alliance (NCA), a nephrologist-led organization that seeks to empower physicians to succeed in a changing health care environment, recently formalized a collaboration with Mend, a leading telehealth platform, to deliver virtual care capabilities to nephrologists, so they can safely support their patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the U.S., through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

"Telehealth gives nephrologists and their CKD patients a safe, secure way to connect and maintain continuity of care during the pandemic,"  said Dr. Leslie Wong, chief medical officer for NCA and staff nephrologist at Cleveland Clinic. "Within 10 days, the NCA advisory group vetted dozens of telehealth providers, identified Mend as our platform of choice and, together, quickly stood up the first, largescale telehealth offering that helps nephrologists manage their CKD patients' kidney health safely and remotely."

In the U.S., 37 million adults live with kidney disease. Nephrologists work to help CKD patients manage their disease so they can remain healthy, stay out of the hospital and delay progression to kidney failure for as long as possible.

"Connecting people to care using telehealth has always been our passion, and COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of this technology," said Matt McBride, CEO for Mend. "We're proud to be working with NCA to help at-risk patients get the care they need in the safety and comfort of their homes."

Established in 2019, NCA provides nephrologists with tools and services to support practice transformation and enable value-based kidney care. Backed by DaVita Kidney Care, NCA has grown to more than 1,200 nephrologist members and expanded its advisory board to 10 experienced physician leaders from diverse nephrology practice backgrounds.

About Nephology Care Alliance
The Nephrology Care Alliance is a physician-provider collaboration that seeks to empower nephrologists through new payment models, data, and tools to engage patients and better manage chronic kidney disease. NCA aims to ensure that the physicians we support are best positioned to succeed in new value-based kidney care models. A primary goal for the group is to reduce high-cost and high-risk incidents for patients. To learn more about Nephrology Care Alliance, visit nephrologycarealliance.com.

About Mend VIP Inc.
Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Mend offers a leading HIPAA compliant patient engagement platform including telehealth, digital forms, appointment reminders, patient and staff scheduling, secure messaging, and much more. Mend is changing the way healthcare providers and their patients communicate and engage with one another leading to increased access to care and better patient experiences.

Contact Information
Media:
Halie Peddle
halie.peddle@davita.com

SOURCE Nephrology Care Alliance