BALTIMORE, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- XLHealth, one of the nation’s fastest- growing disease management companies and a leader in improving the quality of care for patients with chronic illness, is dedicating even more resources to creating industry-leading care management programs. The company has hired two new individuals with extensive experience in disease management and health outcomes to lead its award-winning clinical program. Harry L. Leider, M.D., M.B.A., now serves as the company’s new chief medical officer (CMO) and T. Alafia Samuels, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., serves as the new clinical director of quality and outcomes.
“We are delighted that Drs. Leider and Samuels have joined the XLHealth team,” said Executive Vice President Paul Serini. “As more people recognize the important role disease management plays in improving both the quality and delivery of health care, their expertise will help us expand the reach of our disease management programs.”
Leider is now responsible for all clinical program development and quality improvement efforts within XLHealth. His broad experience as a practicing physician, health plan executive and pioneer in the field of disease management will help XLHealth to continue to provide innovative approaches to support physicians and coordinate the care of chronically ill patients. He explains, “By working with the patient, his or her physician, and other caregivers, we’re helping to bridge the gaps that are a byproduct of our fragmented health care system. But more importantly, we’re in a unique position to improve the way health care is delivered in this country.”
Samuels is now responsible for many of the company’s quality initiatives, as well as the monitoring and analysis of clinical and health outcomes. She also plans to put her experience to work for XLHealth, adding, “XLHealth has gathered a great deal of valuable information about chronically ill patients. I look forward to working with this data to prove what we already know intuitively - focusing resources on these patients is an economically sound strategy.”
XLHealth’s track record continues to produce significant declines in the utilization of health services. For example, over a four-year period, the company’s innovative programs generated significant savings for one of its clients: amputation rates declined by more than 55 percent, heart bypass surgery rates declined by nearly 60 percent, and renal failure admissions declined by more than 45 percent.
Prior to joining XLHealth, Leider served as senior vice president and principal of Interactive Forums, Inc., a national health care consulting, marketing and medical education company, and chief medical officer and senior vice president of health services for HealthNet, a large physician-owned managed care organization. Leider frequently speaks to national audiences about disease management and was a founding board member of the Disease Management Association of America. He also is board-certified in Medical Management and a fellow, core faculty member and board member of the American College of Physician Executives. He served for six years as an attending physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Leider earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and master’s of business administration from the University of Washington.
Prior to joining XLHealth, Samuels served as the outcomes specialist for the Diabetes Prevention Program, a National Institutes of Health-funded initiative, and the senior medical officer for the city of Kingston, Jamaica, where she managed the primary health care of more than 1.1 million residents. She earned both her doctorate in chronic disease epidemiology and master’s of public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her medical degree from the University of the West Indies. She also holds a certificate in “Managing Health Programs in Developing Countries” from the Harvard School of Public Health. Samuels’ doctoral dissertation, Missed Opportunities for Improving Quality of Care in Adults with Diabetes, examined factors that impact the care of diabetics, for which she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honors society.
About XLHealth
XLHealth (http://www.xlhealth.com) has been at the forefront of disease management innovation since its inception. Founded by physicians, many of whom were affiliated with Johns Hopkins, XLHealth supplements the more customary remote telephone “call-center” or direct mail support with ongoing, face-to-face meetings with nurses and physicians. XLHealth also uses tight coordination of care, behavior modification, and in-depth patient profiling integrated with claims, pharmacy, and lab information to generate sophisticated, predictive modeling. The company’s programs prevent avoidable and expensive disease complications and hospitalizations. XLHealth was recently awarded the Disease Management Association of America’s (DMAA) Recognizing Excellence Award for “Best Disease Management Program: Medicare.”
XLHealth
CONTACT: Kristin Brunnworth, +1-410-962-8500 x138, klb@planitagency.com,for XLHealth
Web site: http://www.xlhealth.com/
