Thyme Care Forms Scientific Advisory Board of Renowned Leaders in Oncology, Palliative Care, and Healthcare Innovation

NASHVILLE – October 8, 2024 – Thyme Care, the leading value-based cancer care enabler, today announced the establishment of its scientific advisory board. The four-person board consists of leaders in palliative care, geriatric oncology, health policy, care delivery, predictive analytics, and healthcare innovation from world-class health systems, cancer centers, and research institutions. The members will partner with Thyme Care’s executive, clinical, and operations teams to apply their expertise and research findings to advance the organization’s care model and support new technology developments. The board will also aid the company in its rigorous evaluation of patient outcomes against evidence-based interventions, as well as contribute to research studies.

“With the establishment of this new board, we are tapping into the expertise of leaders to help inform and evolve our care model, and effectively measure our impact on patient outcomes. By merging academic insights with the practical needs of real-world care, we aim to deliver the most comprehensive approach to Thyme Care’s whole person model,” said Bobby Green, MD, co-founder, president, and chief medical officer of Thyme Care. 

“These board members are pioneers in their respective fields—whether in machine learning, palliative care, or geriatric oncology. Their collaboration will guide the evolution and scaling of our model, helping us to continuously improve the impact we’re making on patient outcomes and further strengthen our commitment to innovation and quality care,” added Dr. Green. 

With a deep bench of palliative care experts, the board will bring effective and scalable palliative care to community oncology settings with Thyme Care’s new Enhanced Supportive Care program. This program expands members’ access to psychosocial support, symptom management, and serious illness conversations through a virtual care model deployed in collaboration with oncologists. 

“As a researcher and clinician focused on improving the quality of life for people living with cancer, I’m inspired by Thyme Care’s model of delivering personalized, clinically coordinated care. The company’s proactive, data-driven approach is exactly what’s needed to address the complex needs of these patients,” said Dr. Thomas LeBlanc.

Inaugural members of the scientific advisory board include:

• Jennifer Temel, MD -  Dr. Temel is renowned for her research on the role of early palliative care in advanced cancer and has published many of the most important findings that have informed oncology guidelines recommendations. She recently published the landmark study Multi-site randomized trial of stepped palliative care (PC) for patients with advanced lung cancer, which showed that stepped care, with palliative visits occurring at key points in care trajectories and using a decrement in quality of life to trigger more intensive palliative care, was an effective and scalable model for delivering palliative care to patients with advanced cancers. Dr. Temel is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Clinical Director of Thoracic Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Co-Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and co-leader of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Outcomes Research Program. 

• Ravi Parikh, MD, MPP - Dr. Parikh is an acclaimed physician-scientist and expert in health care artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to improve care delivery. Notably, in a recent groundbreaking study, Dr. Parikh found that behavioral economics-informed implementation strategies, called “nudges” based on machine-learning, can help inform serious illness conversations between patients with cancer and their oncologists. Dr. Parikh serves as medical director of the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University where he is responsible for its overall strategic scientific management and operational oversight. He is also a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of genitourinary cancers at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown, and is an associate professor at the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. 

• Ramy Sedhom, MD - Dr. Sedhom’s clinical and research interests focus on improving patient-centered care for vulnerable populations with specific focus on geriatric oncology. He studies palliative care integration, geriatric assessment, psycho-oncology, caregiver distress, and remote patient monitoring. Dr. Sedhom, with medical leaders at Thyme Care, recently published on improving and optimizing geriatric oncology treatment, including “commonsense interventions” and equitable cancer care for older adults. He is an Associate Director and Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I), as well as the Director for the Program in Geriatric Oncology & Supportive Care Innovation at PC3I. He is also Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Hematology & Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Director of Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at Penn Medicine’s Princeton Medical Center. 

• Thomas LeBlanc, MD - Dr. LeBlanc is a patient experience researcher investigating issues like symptom burden, quality of life, psychological distress, prognostic understanding, and treatment decision-making. He aims to improve patients' experiences, including via the integration of specialist palliative care into comprehensive cancer care, particularly for those with blood cancers. Dr. LeBlanc published a pivotal manuscript on electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) data at the point of care and how routine collection and inclusion of ePRO data improves clinical outcomes. He is medical oncologist and palliative care physician at Duke Health, and serves as Chief Patient Experience and Safety Officer for the Duke Cancer Institute, as well as the Director of Outcomes Research in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy.

“Having known the Thyme Care team for a number of years, I could not be more excited to join the company's new scientific advisory board, as we are strongly aligned in our passion to transform cancer care delivery with groundbreaking care techniques and adoption of proven technological innovations,” said Dr. Parikh. “My fellow members and I look forward to providing insights on future offerings and operations at Thyme Care, and to facilitating research that powers the right care at the right time.” 

About Thyme Care

Thyme Care is the leading value-based care enabler, collaborating with payers and providers to transform the experience and outcomes for individuals living with cancer. The company partners with health plans, employers and risk-bearing providers to assume accountability for enhanced care quality, improved health outcomes, and reduced total cost of care. Thyme Care's approach combines a technology-enabled Care Team and seamless integration with more than 800 oncologists in Thyme Care Oncology Partners, creating a hybrid collaborative care model that guides and supports the entire patient journey. Thyme Care empowers oncologists nationwide through purpose-built tech, advanced data analytics, and virtual patient engagement, driving better care and outcomes in value-based arrangements. Thyme Care is a founding member of CancerX, and is backed by leading investors. To learn more about how Thyme Care is enabling the shift to value-based care in oncology, visit www.thymecare.com.

Contact

Kimberly Dreisinger

Thyme Care Communications

press@thymecare.com