ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthMedia, Inc., the market leader in tailored online behavior change programs, today announced the formation of HealthMedia Consulting Group in response to marketplace demand for more effective behavior change strategies.
The company also announced the appointment of former HealthMedia Director of Marketing, Sarah Stephens Winnay, to Director of HealthMedia Consulting Group, where she is responsible for business development and execution.
Building on the company’s award-winning behavior change expertise, HealthMedia Consulting Group pairs behavior change scientists with clinical and marketing teams to help pharmaceutical companies improve customer relationships and drug compliance; and to help health plan providers, disease management firms and employers increase participation in health and disease management programs and improve outcomes.
Specifically, the practice will provide services in the areas of program promotion strategies, predictive modeling for persistency risk assessments, and proprietary needs assessment audits for drug compliance initiatives and health and disease management programs.
“The formation of the consulting group is a natural evolution for us, and we are fortunate to tap Sarah’s knowledge of our offerings and our customers,” said Ted Dacko, President and CEO of HealthMedia. “Under Sarah’s leadership, we expect the consultancy to be a major force behind HealthMedia’s high-growth success.”
Winnay said, “Our customers increasingly look to us for strategic counsel on how to improve the effectiveness of their behavior change initiatives. Our new consulting group will provide a dedicated team whose depth of expertise and impact will complement our existing behavior change solutions.”
Previously, Winnay held positions at Eli Lilly and Co., The Lewin Group and Decision Resources specializing in market research and marketing strategies for the pharmaceutical and health care industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Dickinson College, and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan Business School with a concentration in corporate strategy and marketing.
Working Toward The I.D.E.A.L.
HealthMedia Consulting Group uses a proprietary model called I.D.E.A.L. in its audit process to examine customers’ compliance and persistency initiatives. The model was created by Dr. Vic Strecher, HealthMedia founder and leading behavior change scientist at the University of Michigan, who has found that most successful initiatives have five characteristics -- they are Integrated, Data-centric, Evidence-based, Adaptive and Longitudinal.
In a typical audit process, HealthMedia Consulting Group applies these characteristics against a customer’s intent as well as actual content and design to look for ways to improve the initiatives and make the communications more compelling -- visually and through individually tailored content.
Recent research shows that adherence to medication therapy averages only 50 to 65 percent for common chronic conditions, costing the American health care system as much as $300 billion. Despite steadily rising prescription drug prices, the research also finds that money spent on medication treatments led to substantial savings when the costs of adherence were compared to the costs of hospitalization and medical treatments.*
“For these reasons, drug compliance is an area of particular interest to all of HealthMedia’s customers both on the pharmaceutical and the health plan and disease management sides,” notes Winnay.
About HealthMedia(R)
Founded in 1998, HealthMedia is the market leader in tailored online behavior change programs. With its powerful combination of proven behavior science, sophisticated technology, and creative marketing, HealthMedia delivers individually tailored self-management programs for healthy lifestyle issues, diseases, and conditions. These programs, which are utilized by pharmaceutical and medical device firms, health plans, employers, and organizations focused on disease management, simulate the personal touch and efficacy of a counselor but can reach far more people at dramatically lower costs to maximize the impact. HealthMedia’s individually tailored solutions can be offered in both Internet and print form and are proven to produce validated outcomes and positive ROI. The company has created programs for conditions and issues such as diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, lower back pain, teen health, smoking cessation, nutrition, weight management, stress management, and health risk assessment. For more information, visit http://www.healthmedia.com .
* Research conducted by Medco Health Solutions as reported by Kelley M. Butler in Employee Benefit News, August 2005.
HealthMedia, Inc.
CONTACT: Sally Hart Petersen, Vice President of Marketing of HealthMedia,Inc., +1-734-623-5485
Web site: http://www.healthmedia.com/
