ATLANTA—Illuma Care Connections, a care coordination company offering technology-enabled services to payers and eyecare providers to serve at-risk diabetic patients nationwide, has named a leading health plan executive and a veteran business leader to its board of directors to help foster new ideas and better care, the company said. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield COO Robert Bunch and senior executive Tom Lamb have joined the Illuma board. Anthem and other national plans have been integrally involved in trials and national rollouts of Illuma Care’s solution, which effectively connects diabetic members with local optometrists as part of a health care program designed to greatly lower the risk of blindness among diabetics.

Lamb, a 30-year global business executive, who has led multibillion dollar corporations, including printer giant Lexmark International and Allied Signal, brings a wealth of strategic, operating and international experience to the Illuma team, the company said. Lamb earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA, Magna Cum Laude, in Economics and Computer Science from Union College in Schenectady, NY.

Bunch, who prior to Anthem consulted in the government and public services sector for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) programs, has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science at Columbus University and a Business Management Certificate from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.

“Robert Bunch and Tom Lamb bring an exciting and powerful mix of health care and business acumen to our board of directors at a pivotal time as Illuma expands from an innovative startup to a life-changing enabler for millions of diabetic patients at risk for blindness,” said Stephen Kendig, Illuma Care Connections CEO. “As we surpass the milestone of helping leading health plans manage and track the care of more than 100,000 diabetic patients nationally, Robert and Tom offer a strategic view into the evolving health care and business markets we can leverage to add new value to our Illuma solutions and system.”

“Illuma Care’s unique outreach and analytics platforms and provider network allow health plans and the overall health care community to take a big step toward better care for at-risk patients nationwide, and I’m honored to contribute to the game-changing mission as a member of Illuma’s Board of Directors,” said Bunch.

“The life-changing impact Illuma has had on so many patients as a startup over the past year bodes extremely well for diabetics in search of cutting-edge eyecare across the U.S.,” noted Lamb.

Once Illuma links diabetic patients with eyecare professionals, it tracks the eye treatment of each patient and the overall percentage of retinopathy and other eye diseases across the patient population, through analytics aimed at driving compliance with stringent HEDIS and STAR measures for quality caregiver performance.

Illuma Care’s ability to notify, schedule and track the treatment of diabetic vision patients has led to national alliances with Medicare, Medicaid, ACA and other health care plans to help ensure diabetics across the country receive proper eyecare.

The company launched its services in February 2017. At the time, CEO Kendig stated, "With partners like BlueCross BlueShield already using Illuma Care Connections, we are very excited about the future of eyecare coordination. Illuma's HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based technology, combined with our fully staffed patient contact center, helps ensure that patients who are referred for medical eye exams get the care they need. From the practitioner's perspective, Illuma helps build the medical side of optometric practices while streamlining ophthalmology referrals for high-risk patients.”