DENVER, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, today announced the next step in an agreement in principle for a settlement in an Atlanta-based case, which previously was announced on April 15. The lawsuit was brought by private attorneys regarding allegations of medication wastage from 2003 to 2010.

"We should be held to high standards of accountability," said Javier Rodriguez, CEO of DaVita Kidney Care. "Our 67,000 teammates across 11 countries look forward to putting this behind us. We can now renew our focus on collaborating with regulators to avoid situations like this going forward."

"Although we believe strongly in the merits of our case, we decided it was in our stakeholders' best interests to resolve it," said Chief Legal Officer for DaVita HealthCare Partners Kim Rivera. "The potential mandatory penalties for being found in the wrong in even a small percentage of instances were simply too large."

"Our current compliance program is already much more comprehensive than what we had five to 10 years ago," said Chief Compliance Officer for DaVita HealthCare Partners Jeanine Jiganti. "We will use this experience to take our effectiveness to a whole new level going forward."

DaVita Kidney Care thanks its teammates and physicians for their dedication to providing the highest quality kidney care to the more than 170,000 patients they serve. This commitment to their patients is reflected in the government's two key scoring reports: The Quality Incentive Plan and the Five-Star Rating System. DaVita Kidney Care is the clear national leader in kidney care clinical outcomes, outperforming the industry in both.

About DaVita Kidney Care

DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of dialysis services in the United States, DaVita Kidney Care treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care strives 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 March 31, 2015, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,197 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 174,000 patients. The company also operated 93 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. DaVita Kidney Care 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 DaVita.com.

Contact Information

Media:
Skip Thurman
303-876-6610
James.Thurman@DaVita.com

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SOURCE DaVita Kidney Care