Fresenius Kidney Care Pilots New Technology to Better Identify Behavioral Health Concerns

Fresenius Kidney Care Pilots New Technology to Better Identify Behavioral Health Concerns

An innovative digital screening tool is being piloted in select Fresenius Kidney Care clinics to better identify behavioral health needs of people living with kidney failure.

Tridiuum ONE combines a digital behavioral health assessment with an advanced analytics engine to identify patient behavioral health issues, assign risk scores, and generate alerts at the point of care. 

Recent studies show that patients with CKD commonly deal with neuropsychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders, with depression being the most frequently reported. These conditions not only cause difficulties in day-to-day life, but also lead to longer hospitalizations and higher mortality rates.

Through the new pilot, care teams will help assess individual patients’ behavioral health status and receive real-time alerts, which will allow the team to direct patients to accurate and timely interventions.

“Patients who are struggling with behavioral health challenges are likely to have both higher medical costs and less optimal clinical outcomes,” said Dr. Terry Ketchersid, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of FMCNA’s Integrated Care Group, who is leading the pilot with the Tridiuum team. “To deliver the best care for our patients and their families, we must address both physical and behavioral health issues. Tridiuum will help us to not only identify behavioral health conditions, but also to improve access to the right care at the right time to maximize the impact of our interventions.”

The pilot will first launch in Georgia dialysis centers and use the Tridiuum ONE platform to identify behavioral health problems in patients early. From Tridiuum ONE, medical providers may use the information to ensure they are providing the correct treatment to their patients.

The new pilot program is just one example of the advancements Fresenius Kidney Care is making around behavioral health issues to ensure patients receive well-rounded care, focusing not only on renal care, but every aspect of patient health. This care coordination effort is critical to improving outcomes and quality of life.

Fresenius Medical Care Ventures, which invests in emerging technologies and therapies which will have a significant value for the patient and for the healthcare system, has served as a strategic co-investor in Tridiuum since 2018.