DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2012-- DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care services that is committed to improving the quality of life for those diagnosed with chronic kidney disease (CKD), announced the launch of NephLinkTM (www.NephLink.com), a new online physician community for kidney care.

NephLink is designed to allow physicians to discuss difficult patient cases or practice-management issues, share best practices and ideas, and debate the evolving health care landscape. NephLink provides physicians with direct access to their colleagues to engage and collaborate as a group – or one-on-one – with self-service privacy controls.

NephLink is a primary resource for nephrologists, but is also designed to connect all physicians serving kidney patients, including vascular surgeons and internists.

“NephLink is designed for the entire kidney care physician community to collaborate on difficult cases, share resources and best practices, and break down walls that prevent communication and collaboration,” said Dr. Allen Nissenson, MD, FACP, editor-in-chief of NephLink and chief medical officer at DaVita®. “We hope that NephLink may help the entire kidney care community achieve improved clinical outcomes for their patients.”

In addition to providing tools to connect and collaborate, NephLink provides access to news, journals, events and resources from many kidney care news syndicates and journal publishers.

“I think NephLink offers virtually unlimited possibilities for the entire physician community to keep up with the latest clinical and policy developments and connect with each other on a professional level,” said Dr. Mark Kaplan, co-editor of NephLink and vice president of medical affairs at DaVita. “I see NephLink helping us tear down some of the artificial boundaries between physicians and supporting meaningful conversations with new and old colleagues.”

Self-service privacy controls allow physicians registered on NephLink to exercise control over posted content that they share publicly. NephLink is powered by OzmosisESPSM, a care-collaboration platform used exclusively by hospital systems and health care organizations, and there is no cost to join the community or access any of the content available on NephLink.

To register for NephLink, any licensed physician can register at www.NephLink.com. A brief online tour of NephLink is available at YouTube.com/watch?v=DqJVrjZ3rTg.

DaVita and NephLink are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About DaVita

DaVita Inc., a Fortune 500® company, is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVitastrives to improve patients’ quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of June 30, 2012, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,884 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 149,000 patients. The company also operated 19 outpatient dialysis centers located in four countries outside the United States. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company’s leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit www.davita.com.

Source: DaVita Inc.

DaVita Inc.
Lauren Moughon, 303-876-6612 (Office)
Mobile: 206-724-3826
Lauren.Moughon@DaVita.com