ATLANTA and HONOLULU, March 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sharecare, the digital health company helping people manage all their health in one place, and Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and Hawaii’s leading health plan, today announced that they have significantly expanded their partnership and HMSA has made a separate strategic investment in Sharecare.1 With Sharecare as its digital health partner, HMSA is empowering its members and everyone in Hawaii to live happier, healthier, more productive lives, while the state becomes an integrated model for others to follow.
“HMSA exists for one reason – to help everyone in Hawaii take control of their health and well-being. It’s the best way to improve the health of our state and keep quality health care affordable,” said Michael A. Gold, HMSA chief executive officer. “Sharecare is essential to helping us reach that goal because its mobile platform meets people no matter where they are on their health journey, and also plays a major role in our community health initiatives such as the Blue Zones Project and Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease.”
HMSA has selected Sharecare to provide the digital connectivity and messaging platform to enable Māhie 2020, HMSA’s strategic vision and plan to advance the health of Hawaii. To that end, HMSA began onboarding ambassadors and employees onto the newly developed Sharecare platform last month, with deployment to all residents of Hawaii expected this summer. Sharecare’s comprehensive platform – soon available to other health plans and employers – is the culmination of more than six years of:
- building, acquiring and integrating key technologies and functionality;
- setting a new industry standard in personalization, interoperability and daily engagement; and
- efficiently connecting people to the healthcare system.
“As a doctor, I’m excited that the Sharecare digital platform supports the relationship between a patient and his or her physician by allowing them to connect outside of the doctor’s office,” said Mark M. Mugiishi, M.D., HMSA senior vice president and chief medical officer. “At HMSA, we believe that by leveraging artificial intelligence through the power of the smartphone to support, inform and engage people in their own health, everyone in Hawaii will benefit.”
While the 2016 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index from Sharecare ranked Hawaii as the healthiest state in the nation, HMSA is addressing health challenges still facing the state’s residents, including diabetes, obesity and heart disease. To support this, HMSA recently added five Hawaii communities to the Blue Zones Project, Sharecare’s nationally-recognized initiative that uses scientifically proven approaches of longevity, health and happiness to create vibrant communities and boost the well-being of their residents.
Additionally, HMSA offers its members access to Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease – also part of Sharecare through its 2016 acquisition of Healthways – which is the only scientifically proven program to stop the progression and reverse the effects of heart disease, and is covered by Medicare and other insurers like HMSA. Later this year, the content, tools and resources of the Blue Zones Project and Dr. Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease also will be available on the Sharecare platform.
“Over the past few years at Sharecare, we have actively assembled all the capabilities and programs to create one comprehensive, integrated platform, allowing organizations to effectively manage and improve the health and wellness of their diverse populations,” said Jeff Arnold, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Sharecare. “We are thrilled to work with a partner like HMSA who is fully leveraging our robust solution at every possible touchpoint.”
Arnold added, “Beyond the privilege of working with the visionary leadership at HMSA to roll out Sharecare across the entire state and health plan system, we are excited about creating new immersive health experiences that uniquely integrate virtual reality of the human body and 360-degree video to inspire the people of Hawaii to better understand and improve their health.”
Building on the companies’ mutual passion for leveraging innovation and fostering empathy, HMSA is partnering with Sharecare to introduce these unique, highly interactive storytelling techniques to enhance member education and engagement. The companies are combining 360-degree video of Hawaii’s stunning natural environment and Sharecare’s virtual reality platform to showcase inspirational stories of Hawaii residents who have transformed their health.
The reach of Sharecare’s investors extends from the living room to doctors’ exam room and into companies’ boardrooms and mailrooms alike. In addition to HMSA, Sharecare’s strategic investors include hospitals and health care investment firms, in particular, HCA (NYSE:HCA), Trinity Health and the Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund;2 media companies Discovery Communications, Harpo Productions and Sony Pictures Television; high growth technology investment firms such as Claritas Capital; noted crossover fund Wellington Management; and Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance providers. To date, Sharecare has raised more than $225 million in financing.
About Sharecare
Sharecare is the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place. The Sharecare platform provides each person – no matter where they are in their health journey – with a comprehensive and personalized health profile, where they can dynamically and easily connect to the information, evidence-based programs and health professionals they need to live their healthiest, happiest and most productive life. With award-winning and innovative frictionless technologies, scientifically validated clinical protocols and best-in-class coaching tools, Sharecare helps providers, employers and health plans effectively scale outcomes-based health and wellness solutions across their entire populations. To learn more, visit www.sharecare.com.
About HMSA
Caring for the people of Hawaii is our promise and our privilege. Working together with employers, partners, and physicians and other health care providers, we promote wellness; develop reliable, affordable health plans; and support members with clear, thoughtful guidance.
HMSA is the most experienced health plan in the state, covering more than half of Hawaii’s population. As a recognized leader, we embrace our responsibility to strengthen the health and well-being of our community.
Headquartered on Oahu with centers and offices statewide to serve our members, HMSA is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
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1 Hospitals and healthcare investment firms, such as HCA, Trinity Health and the Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund, and Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance providers, are investors in Sharecare.
2 The Heritage Healthcare Innovation Fund is backed by some of the nation’s leading healthcare companies, including Adventist Health System, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Cerner, Community Health Systems, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Intermountain Healthcare, Memorial Hermann, Sutter Health, Tenet Health and UnityPoint Health.