Somatus Names New Medical Executive to Direct the Delivery of World-Class Kidney Care

Somatus welcomes Dr. Joe Kimura as Chief Medical Officer

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Somatus, the leading provider of value-based kidney care nationwide, serving approximately 150,000 patients in 2022, today announced the appointment of Dr. Joe Kimura as Chief Medical Officer to the Somatus executive team.

"Dr. Kimura's deep experience in population health management, coupled with his pragmatic application of health informatics, has enabled him to deliver high-value, proactive care that achieves optimal outcomes and measurable results," said Dr. Ikenna Okezie, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Somatus. "We are excited to have Dr. Kimura at the helm of our clinical operations, driving more equitable access to better care, both earlier and throughout the health journey of our members."

Dr. Kimura is board certified in Internal Medicine and Clinical Informatics and has been a national advocate for the practical applications of clinical informatics and healthcare analytics to improve care. He has served on several federal Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology workgroups and was Co-Chair of the Workgroup on Advanced Health Models and Meaningful Use.  

Nationally, he was recognized as a Top 25 Clinical Informaticist by Modern Healthcare in 2012 and a leading Chief Medical Information Officer expert by Health Data Management in 2016. Dr. Kimura served on the national boards of the Council for Accountable Care Practice, the Clinical Health Network, and the Yale University Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology.

"Coming from the provider space, we have a unique opportunity to further expand our collaborative partnerships with physicians and delivery systems in order to improve the care of patients with kidney disease," said Dr. Kimura. "I truly believe that the promotion of high-value, proactive preventive care is critical to help patients live healthier and happier lives. I look forward to helping Somatus advance our clinical operations and improve patient outcomes as we continue to scale significantly across multiple markets."

Dr. Kimura is a graduate of Stanford University, Washington University School of Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health. He completed his residency training in primary care internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, his health services research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, and the MIT Sloan Executive Program in Management, Innovation, and Technology in 2015. He is a faculty member in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  

Dr. Kimura joined Somatus in August of 2022.

Somatus partners with leading health plans, health systems, nephrology, and primary care groups to provide integrated care for patients with or at risk of developing kidney disease. As the market leader in value-based kidney care, Somatus' vertically integrated clinical services and technology delay or prevent disease progression, improve quality and care coordination, and increase the use of home dialysis modalities and rates of kidney transplantation. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and was founded by a team of world-class healthcare operators, successful entrepreneurs, and leading clinicians treating kidney disease. For more information, please visit www.somatus.com.

Media Contact:
Lara Smith
[email protected]

SOURCE Somatus