North Star Health Announces Partnership With Ken Thorpe, PHD
ATLANTA, October 14, 2008 - Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, Executive Director,
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease; Executive Director, Emory Institute for
Advanced Policy Solutions; Chair, Department of Health Policy and Management,
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; and former Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Policy at HHS under the Clinton Administration has partnered with
Atlanta-based North Star Health in the development of their new product,
Lumina(TM), that was introduced to the market in August 2008.
Paul Davis, MD, Founder and CEO, North Star Health stated, "We were
privileged to have Dr. Thorpe actively involved in the development of
Lumina(TM). His academic research identifying the major role that chronic
disease plays in our country's healthcare expenditures, coupled with his
national record of setting health care policy, makes him a tremendous asset
and advisor. With Dr. Thorpe's expertise and knowledge we will continue to
add functionality and technology to our suite of products to support the
prevention of chronic disease."
According to Dr. Ken Thorpe with the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease,
chronic diseases are the number one cause of death and leading driver of
rising health care costs in America. The annual economic impact on the U.S.
economy of the seven most common chronic diseases is calculated to be $1.3
trillion, which could balloon to nearly $6 trillion by the middle of the
century. These are conditions that, with proper early intervention, diet, and
exercise, could be prevented, delayed, or minimized. Dr. Thorpe is currently
working with North Star Health to further enhance its suite of data analytic
products to address the overwhelming rise in healthcare costs as it relates to
chronic diseases.
Dr. Thorpe, a North Star Health Advisory Board member for a number of
years, stated, "More than 130 million Americans today have a chronic disease,
nearly crippling our healthcare system. Prevention is the key to controlling
health care's rising costs, and preventing an economic meltdown. Many systems
focus on wellness and disease management. North Star Health's Lumina(TM)
incorporates wellness and disease management functionality, with an emphasis
on prevention. This is accomplished by encouraging personal responsibility and
engaging both the employee and employer to better understand, manage and in
some cases, prevent chronic diseases within organizations. "
Lumina(TM), the cost and care management program developed by North Star
Health, integrates wellness, preventive health, disease management and
predictive health functionalities into one platform. Designed for both
employer and employee use by separate online portals, the program identifies
risk factors associated with some of the most costly chronic disease states
such as diabetes and heart disease. It then tracks and alerts the individual
to seek medical attention based on nationally recognized preventive health
guidelines.
ABOUT NORTH STAR HEALTH
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, North Star Health (www.northstarhealth.com) is
a health care data analytics company providing risk, cost, and care-management
solutions for health plans, TPAs, self-insured companies, and wellness
companies. Lumina(TM) from North Star Health integrates wellness, preventive
health, disease management and predictive health functionalities into one
platform. It was developed in conjunction with a nationally recognized health
care policy expert and economist, Dr. Ken E. Thorpe.
ABOUT KENNETH THORPE, PHD
Kenneth Thorpe, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight
Chronic Disease, Robert W. Woodruff Professor and Chair of the Department of
Health Policy & Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.
He was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy, U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. In this capacity, he coordinated all financial estimates
and program impacts of President Clinton's healthcare reform proposals for the
White House and directed the administration's estimation efforts in dealing
with Congressional healthcare reform proposals. He has authored and co-
authored over 80 articles, chapters and books and is a frequent national
presenter on issues of healthcare financing, insurance and reform (including
testimonies before Congressional committees). He has worked with groups
(including the American College of Physicians, American Hospital Association,
National Coalition on Health Care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association,
Service Employees International Union, United Hospital Fund) and policymakers
(including Senators Wellstone, Corzine, Bingaman, Snowe, Clinton, Kennedy) to
develop and evaluate approaches to provide health insurance to the uninsured.
For more information about Ken Thorpe, PhD and the Partnership to Fight
Chronic Disease, visit www.fightchronicdisease.org.
SOURCE North Star Health, Inc.
