Pfizer teams up to offer online health management

Drug giant Pfizer Inc. is teaming up with San Francisco-based interactive-technology firm Keas Inc. to introduce an online prevention and wellness program, the company announced Monday.

Pfizer, which has major research-and-development sites in Groton and New London, said the idea is for consumers to adopt personalized online "care plans" to take charge of their own health.

Some of the care plans are being authored by Pfizer itself, according to Keas spokeswoman Mara Brazer. The New York-based company is the only pharmaceutical firm to author plans so far, Pfizer confirmed, though others might join down the road.

"By combining the recommendation of an individual's physician with a personalized, expert-developed care plan to support day-to-day health decisions, we believe patients will potentially experience improved health outcomes," said Olivier Brandicourt, president and general manager of Pfizer's primary care business unit, in a statement.

Pfizer would not provide many specific details of the strategic partnership with Keas, including any financial considerations involved, saying the two companies are still working out the details. Pfizer spokeswoman Samantha Cummis said details of how physicians and insurance companies might interact with patients on the site are still being worked out.

"Today no one helps you," Keas founder Adam Bosworth, former head of Google Health, said in a blog about his business concept. "You can't assemble your health data to get the best care possible. Even if you can, your doctors rarely help because the system doesn't pay them to keep you healthy. You don't have tools that work online to help in these situations, partly because insurance doesn't pay for them."

The online health-management system Bosworth has championed will help patients to take on such challenges as weight loss, smoking cessation and diabetes prevention with more knowledge and tools at their disposal, he said.

The care-plan Web site at www.keas.com, which has been going through beta testing since October, already has more than 10,000 members, Brazer said. Users currently can enter the site for free, but there will be small charges for individualized care plans in the future, she added.

Among the features of the Keas site, which Brazer called "very secure and very private," is the ability for patients or their family members to be reminded about taking their medications. People who use the site, currently ranging in age from their 20s to 70s, can have their lab results analyzed, get suggestions for making their weight-loss goals and receive encouragement as they chart their progress in aiming for healthier lifestyles, she added.

Care plans put together by Keas have mined the expertise of doctors, pharmacists and nutritionists. Health experts from Dr. Greene Pediatrics, DiabetesMine, HealthWise and CVS MinuteClinic are contributors to various Care Plans.

Unlike other medical Web sites, Keas will filter online searches depending on individual users' health status, Brazer said, making the information more meaningful.

"This is a further testimony of Pfizer's commitment to remain the partner of choice for entrepreneurs and innovators," said Kristin Peck, Pfizer's senior vice president of Worldwide Strategy & Innovation, in a statement. "It is about harnessing the power of the best innovators across the world through new partnerships and novel ecosystems."