WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Duo Health, a new type of globally capitated medical group, is launching in multiple markets in 2022 to address challenges of patients, physicians and plans in the face of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage kidney disease (ESKD). The prevalence of CKD and ESKD represents a public health crisis for the 1 in 7 American adults affected, and its status quo treatment contributes significantly to health inequity in the country.
Duo Health is co-founded by CEO Nathan Goldstein, Dr. Stuart Levine and Chicago Pacific Founders (CPF). Goldstein has founded and led multiple successful healthcare organizations and Dr. Levine, an Operating Partner at CPF was formerly the co-founder and Chief Medical and Innovation Officer of agilon health, senior medical officer of Blue Shield, HealthCare Partners, SCAN, and Heritage Medical Group, Professor of Medicine at UCLA, and is currently the Director of Google Health. Chicago Pacific Founders has made their mark in establishing businesses in value-based care to deliver innovative models in specialty care.
Prior to founding Duo, Goldstein was founding Chief Product Officer and later Chief Strategy Officer of Signify Health which he helped lead to $5.3B IPO in 2021. He was also a Founding investor in, and later on the management team of, Censeo Health, one of Forbes’ 2014 100 Most Promising Companies in America. Goldstein was also previous CEO of Gorman Health Group, now part of Convey Health Solutions.
“The time is now,” said Goldstein. “While prevalence rates of CKD and ESKD have soared in recent years, the pandemic period has only increased the challenges facing physicians and other healthcare workers to support their patients. But reform will only move at the speed of trust. We believe that highly trained care teams and advanced technology produce the best outcomes when their activities are anchored in innovative payment models that inspire collaboration between clinical peers.”
“The need for better solutions in chronic kidney disease and end stage kidney disease is significant, and Duo Health is an expression of our broader fund thesis of bringing value-based care to specific diseases with new and differentiated models,” said Founder and Managing Partner Mary Tolan of Chicago Pacific Founders, an investment advisor that manages private investment funds that specialize in investing in value-based care innovation, healthcare services, AI and tech enabled healthcare services and senior living.
“Key to our success is our partnerships with local nephrologists, whom we seek to empower with accretive financial arrangements and keener insight into their patients’ rapidly evolving condition. Duo Health medical groups use advanced analytics to identify patients early and our machine learning tools better predict risk of kidney function decline. We design a care plan to be executed by a small team, each member of whom our patients are on a first-name basis,” said Goldstein. “Those efforts to restore patient trust and empower physicians are the foundation to our goal to improve transplants, improve dialysis starts, slow disease progression and ultimately create a better life for patients living with kidney disease.”
About Duo Health:
Duo Health (“Duo”) is a new type of medical group designed around the needs of patients with chronic kidney disease and their physicians. Duo’s unique Health Mobilization™ platform partners multidisciplinary care teams with community nephrologists and activates all the other clinicians, facilities, and community organizations necessary to treat the whole patient on their own terms. The Duo Health team is comprised of leaders in value-based health care, technology and behavioral science who share a vision for advancing health equity one relationship at a time. For more information, please visit www.duohealth.com.
About Chicago Pacific Founders:
Based in Chicago and San Francisco, Chicago Pacific Founders (“CPF”) is an investment adviser that manages private funds, focusing exclusively on healthcare services. CPF is a private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies within the healthcare services sector. CPF believes that the most significant societal impact and investment returns from healthcare for the next decade will be generated by investment in delivery model innovation and meeting the changing needs of an aging population. CPF’s leadership team includes former healthcare CEOs and senior executives with a passion and track record of building successful healthcare businesses. For more information, please visit www.cpfounders.com.
