When Jesse Waldron describes Thyme Care’s work, he begins with the patient experience. Cancer patients, he explains, are often thrust into a healthcare system that can feel overwhelming both financially and emotionally.
That reality sits at the center of Thyme Care’s mission. As an oncology care navigation company, Thyme Care helps patients move through their cancer journey while also partnering with health plans and oncology providers. The company works at the intersection of those relationships, helping coordinate care and improve outcomes.
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Waldron tells us that Thyme Care partners first with health plans, which identify members undergoing active cancer treatment. From there, the company works directly with patients and collaborates with oncology practices and health systems delivering care. The goal is to help patients navigate treatment while helping health plans manage rising oncology costs.
A key part of that model is Thyme Care’s virtual care team. The organization employs approximately 550 nurses, social workers, and health navigators, Waldron tells us. Those professionals support patients between appointments, helping ensure they stay on track with medications, receive timely care, and have access to guidance when questions arise.
The company’s virtual approach also expands its reach beyond major population centers. Thyme Care serves patients across the United States, including rural communities where access to large academic medical centers may be limited, Waldron tells us. He points to community oncology practices in places such as rural Tennessee as examples of where the model can make a meaningful difference.
Today, Thyme Care serves more than 120,000 members actively undergoing their cancer journey, Waldron tells us.
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CFOTL: We might have a few more career-related questions for you, Jesse, a little later, but right now let’s find out about Thyme Care. What is this company about?
Waldron: Thyme Care is an oncology care navigation company. We help patients who are undergoing their cancer journey. Patients diagnosed with cancer are often entering a very difficult experience within the American healthcare system—one that can be overwhelming both financially and emotionally. We partner with health plans and oncologists to help manage members throughout their cancer care journey, improving their experience while also helping bend the cost curve for the health plans we work with.
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CFOTL: Is Thyme Care partnering with large healthcare institutions as well? How do you come into the equation?
Waldron: We really sit at the center of the ecosystem. Our business model starts with health plans—the insurance companies and organizations taking risk on patient populations. We work with them to help manage members going through active cancer treatment and reduce the overall cost burden associated with oncology care.
From there, we partner directly with patients. The health plan identifies members who are undergoing cancer treatment, and we help manage those members on the plan’s behalf. We also work closely with oncology practices, community oncology groups, and health systems that are delivering care. Our role is to help those providers navigate patients through the treatment journey.
We do that through a virtual care team that includes roughly 550 nurses, social workers, and health navigators. They support patients between appointments, helping ensure they receive timely care, stay on the right medications, and have access to guidance when they need it. Ultimately, we sit at the center of the relationships among health plans, providers, and patients as part of our core business model.
CFOTL: Are most of your patients in major metropolitan areas, or do you also serve rural communities?
Waldron: We serve patients across the United States, both in major metro markets and rural communities. Because Thyme Care operates as a virtual care navigation service, our model works especially well in areas where access to large academic medical centers may be limited.
For example, someone receiving treatment through a community oncology practice in rural Tennessee can still receive meaningful support through our care navigation services. Today, we serve more than 120,000 members who are actively undergoing their cancer journey, representing a meaningful portion of the population receiving cancer treatment across the country.
Thyme Care | wwwthymecare.com | Nashville, TN