Country music star Tim McGraw knows firsthand what it’s like to navigate the healthcare system as a caregiver to a family member. He likens the feeling to being like an outsider stepping into a Nashville studio, trying to read a music chart and being expected to figure out what is happening.

“It’s a different language,” says McGraw. “You are walking into an entirely new and unfamiliar situation, with information about treatments and medications, and it’s hard to know that doctors are communicating with one another, so you find yourself having to explain information over and over again to doctors, and when communicating with family members, re-explaining things, rehashing things and reliving things.”

McGraw knew firsthand the experience of seeing his dad, Tug McGraw, whom Tim got to know at the very end of his life, navigate the healthcare system up until his death in 2004. McGraw also witnessed his longtime friend Todd Cato, Narus co-founder, endure his own experience with the shortcomings of the healthcare system when Todd’s father, Tom, passed away in 2014. When Cato co-founded the company, McGraw wanted to help and joined the board of Narus Health.

McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, used the Narus Health care management platform when Hill’s father, Wesley “Ted” Perry, fell ill with a serious, life-threatening illness that needed constant treatment and attention.

McGraw and Hill enrolled Perry, who was living in Mississippi, in the Narus Health platform. It enabled Hill and McGraw, active in busy careers with lots of travel, to keep abreast of all activities related to Perry’s care on their mobile phones. With other family members spread around the country, the platform also allowed the family to be updated more efficiently.

The platform served as a central location for Perry’s care plan and was where documents related to his care were stored, which enabled different physicians involved to have a single point of truth.

The platform also contained detailed information about treatments and prescriptions, including dosages and pharmacy numbers. The communication functionality on the platform enabled Perry to reach out to the Narus Health care team when he needed assistance, and they helped him navigate his experience.

McGraw’s positive personal experience with Narus Health encouraged him to use his visibility to make others aware of a better way to meet patient and family needs. That’s why he has appeared onstage at the 2019 Endwell Conference to lend his support to Lucent Health’s care management solution, powered by Narus.

As Narus Health shifted from its original market and serving end-of-life needs to meeting the needs of self-insured employers, McGraw was able to see the same value for employers, as an employer himself. McGraw’s band and business organization have made him aware of the challenges employers face finding a solution that ensures their people are taken care of.

“As an employer, I want to be there for the people who count on me, and their families,” McGraw says. “Narus is such a fantastic tool for that.”

The value of Narus really enhances the health benefits offerings to self-insured employers.

“The depth of service that we loved about the Narus Health program—the people, process and platform— was why we wanted them to be bundled into our service offering,” said Brett Rodewald, Lucent Health CEO. Lucent Health bought Narus Health in 2019. “At the same time, Narus Health is free to pursue opportunities that sit outside of who we serve.”