Health Dialog

Health Dialog was founded by entrepreneurs George Bennett and Chris McKown in 1997. “[http://business.wvu.edu/alumni/business-hall-of-fame/inductees/george-bennett#:~:text=In%201997%20he%20co%2Dfounded,dedicated%20to%20improving%20world%20health George Bennett: 2014 Inductee].” John Chambers College of Business and Economics | West Virginia University, Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.[http://wvutoday-archive.wvu.edu/n/2010/02/02/entrepreneur-environmentalist-and-entertainer-join-wvu-s-academy-of-distinguished-alumni.html#:~:text=The%20last%20firm%20he%20co,the%20firm’s%20Board%20of%20Directors. News | University Relations | West Virginia University.] “Entrepreneur, Environmentalist and Entertainer Join WVU’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni.” West Virginia University: WVUTODAY Archive, 2 Feb. 2010{{Cite book |last=Wennberg |first=John E. |title=Tracking medicine: a researcher's quest to understand health care |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973178-7 |location=New York}} The entrepreneurs established the company with the purpose of providing patients with decision aids and improving how healthcare providers manage chronic illness.

The venture was inspired by Dr. John Wennberg, an American healthcare researcher, and his work documenting how medical treatment patterns can affect the cost of healthcare. {{Cite web |title=Outcomes Pioneer Wennberg Receives Two Prestigious Awards - Geisel School of Medicine |url=https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/news/2007_h2/08nov2007_wennberg.shtml |access-date=2024-12-09 |language=en}}{{cite journal | pmc=6140041 | date=2016 | last1=Gale | first1=A. | title=John Wennberg, MD: The Influential Doctor Who Blames Physicians and Fee-For-Service Medicine for the High Cost of Health Care: Obama Care is Based on His Research | journal=Missouri Medicine | volume=113 | issue=3 | pages=156–158 | pmid=27443035 }} Sources suggest that the Dartmouth professor’s research influenced U.S. healthcare policy and reform; Wennberg helped government policymakers create a research model called the Patient Outcomes and Research Team (PORTs); this led Congress to integrate the program into its organization, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) designed to make healthcare more accessible and safer. {{Cite journal |last=Fonteyn |first=M. |date=August 1998 |title=The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research guidelines: implications for home health care providers |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9855873/ |journal=AACN Clinical Issues |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=338–354; quiz 453–455 |doi=10.1097/00044067-199808000-00002 |issn=1079-0713 |pmid=9855873}}{{Cite book |last=Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Potential Conflicts of Interest in Patient Outcomes Research Teams |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25121242/ |title=Patient Outcomes Research Teams: Managing Conflict of Interest |date=1991 |publisher=National Academies Press (US) |isbn=978-0-309-04482-0 |editor-last=Donaldson |editor-first=Molla S. |location=Washington (DC) |pmid=25121242 |editor-last2=Capron |editor-first2=Alexander M.}} After PORTs and the AHCPR were established, Wennberg went on to create the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making (FIMDM), a non-profit medical education and research organization that informed patients of their treatment choices. John E. Wennberg, M.D., M.P.H." [https://web.archive.org/web/20110708114630/http://www.capconcorp.com/oba05/bios/wennberg.pdf (PDF)]. Capital Consulting Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2024-12-04. In 1995, the AHCPR was downsized by Republicans in Congress looking to curb government overreach. This created a lack of government funding for programs like FIMDM, forcing the organization to seek financing elsewhere. {{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Jon Gilbert |title=Dartmouth Medicine Magazine :: From Pariah to Pioneer |url=https://dartmed.dartmouth.edu/fall13/html/from_pariah_to_pioneer/ |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=dartmed.dartmouth.edu}} Recognizing the potential to implement Wennberg’s findings in a way that would benefit patients, Bennett and McKown created Health Dialog, a for-profit company, to provide customers with informed medical decisions.

The company has changed hands throughout its history. In 2007, Health Dialog was acquired by Bupa, an international healthcare group, until it was purchased by the Rite Aid Corporation in 2014. “Health Dialog Sold in $775M Deal.” [http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/12/17/daily26.html Bizjournals.Com], Boston Business Journal, 18 Dec. 2007,{{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Michael |title=Rite Aid acquires Health Dialog Services Corporation |url=https://drugstorenews.com/news/rite-aid-acquires-health-dialog-services-corporation |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Drug Store News |language=en}}"Rite Aid Corporation. (2015, April 23). [https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/84129/000104746915003838/a2224297z10-k.htm Form 10-K]. Retrieved from the Securities and Exchange Commission". Currently, the company is part of Carenet Health, which delivers telephonic and online support to customers while also utilizing predictive analytics to suggest opportunities for lower-cost treatments. {{Cite web |last=Hagland |first=Mark |date=2024-10-18 |title=Editor's Notes: Why Are the National Pharmacy-Based Companies Struggling? |url=https://www.hcinnovationgroup.com/finance-revenue-cycle/blog/55236665/editors-notes-why-are-the-national-pharmacy-based-companies-struggling |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=Healthcare Innovation |language=en}}

Health Dialog employs licensed health coaches to provide population health management services. The company uses its clinical knowledge, plus a variety of tools and resources, to support the needs of all populations in order to evaluate and then guide members to an improved health. {{Cite web |last=Team |first=Trefis |title=Rite Aid Adds Quality Independent Physicians To Its Health Alliance Program |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/11/24/rite-aid-adds-quality-independent-physicians-to-its-health-alliance-program/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Forbes |language=en}} {{Cite web |last=Baum |first=Stephanie |date=2016-11-21 |title=Health IT investors share lessons learned from early investments |url=https://medcitynews.com/2016/11/health-investors-share-lessons-learned-early-investments/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=MedCity News |language=en-US}}

Health Dialog's Pathways Engine, uses predictive analytics and machine learning to identify opportunities for health management and cost reduction. The company uses analytics to combine clinical and non-clinical data in order to capture a number of factors that can influence health status and healthcare decisions. This ranges from claims, health risk assessment responses and biometric values to census information, consumer data assets (to assess purchasing capabilities and behaviors), social determinants of health (SDOH), household composition, health attitudes and communication preferences. {{Cite web |last=Johnsen |first=Michael |title=Health Dialog maximizes patient engagement through new personalized health portal |url=https://drugstorenews.com/news/health-dialog-maximizes-patient-engagement-through-new-personalized-health-portal |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Drug Store News |language=en}} {{Cite web |date=2016-06-23 |title=Rite Aid's Health Dialog unveils personal health portal |url=https://chaindrugreview.com/rite-aids-health-dialog-unveils-personal-health-portal/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |website=Chain Drug Review |language=en}}

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Category:Rite Aid

Category:Health care companies established in 1997

Category:Multinational companies

Category:Health care companies based in New Hampshire