Sharecare
Sharecare is a health and wellness engagement platform that provides consumers with personalized information, programs and resources to improve their health. It provides personalized information to the site's users based on their responses to the RealAge Test, the company's health risk assessment tool, and offers a clinical decision support tool, AskMD. Headquartered in Atlanta, Sharecare was founded in 2010 by Jeff Arnold (founder of WebMD) and Dr. Mehmet Oz, in partnership with Remark Media, Harpo Studios, Sony Pictures Television and Discovery Communications.[2][3][4]
Type of business | Private |
---|---|
Founded | October 7, 2010 |
Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
Founder(s) | Jeff Arnold, Dr. Mehmet Oz |
Key people | Jeff Arnold (CEO) Dawn Whaley (President) Justin Ferrero (President) |
Industry | Digital Health |
Employees | 3,248 (2019)[1] |
Subsidiaries | DailyStrength, dotFit, The Little Blue Book, WisePatient, RealAge, PKC Corporation, BACTES, QualityHealth, Feingold Technologies, Healthways |
URL | www |
Services
Sharecare began as an interactive question-and-answer (Q&A) platform about health [5] and then expanded its products and services through internal development and strategic acquisitions of companies including DailyStrength, dotFit, The Little Blue Book, WisePatient, RealAge, PKC Corporation, BACTES Imaging Solutions, QualityHealth, Feingold Technologies, BioLucid and Healthways.[6][7][8][9][10]
Sharecare.com is built on a social content platform curating the collective knowledge of vetted medical experts. Much of its content is contributed by organizations like AARP, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and medical professionals.[11] Questions are also answered by medical centers such as the Cleveland Clinic.[12] The platform allows them to answer questions and engage in conversations about health.[13]
AskMD, launched in December 2013, is a web-based application, (and a free app for iPhone and iPod touch), that helps people collect information about symptoms, learn more about causes, and find appropriate physicians. AskMD aims to help consumers get organized around their health and have a more productive doctor's visit by guiding users through a personalized questionnaire that takes into account symptoms and other factors, like medications and known conditions, and matches answers against the latest clinical research. AskMD's clinical knowledge management system was developed through Sharecare's acquisition of PKC Corporation, to bring evidence-based medicine to patients and providers, and enabling clinically-informed communications. It was named Best Medical App at the 4th Annual Appy Awards, and was named an official 2014 Webby Award honoree in Mobile & Apps: Health & Fitness.[14][15]
In February 2020, Sharecare announced the acquisition of Visualize Health, a Population Health and Quality Measure Attainment platform based in Tennessee. [16][17][18]
Criticisms
Paid Sponsors
Concerns have been raised regarding the bias of answers provided on Sharecare.com by “knowledge partners," or paid sponsors.[19] Such knowledge partners include (among others): Colgate-Palmolive; Pfizer; Unilever (Dove skin-care products); health insurer UnitedHealthcare; and Walgreens drug stores.[20]
Dental Amalgam
In June 2013, the American Dental Association (ADA) withdrew as a knowledge partner in response to what it considered an irresponsible attack on co-owner Mehmet Oz's "Dr. Oz Show" on the use of dental amalgam. ADA President Dr. Robert A Faiella summed up the group's reaction by stating: "As a science-based organization, we should always welcome inquiry, but we should not be seen as supporting the promotion of misleading information unsupported by the best science." [21]
See also
- HealthTap – a mobile health platform with Q&A
- Answers.com – a general Q&A resource
References
- "Sharecare Company Profile". Craft. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
- "Quarterly Report on Remark Holdings". SEC. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- Elliott, Stuart (2010-10-06). "Web Site to Offer Health Advice, Some of It From Marketers". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- "Dr. Mehmet Oz and Internet Entrepreneur, Jeff Arnold, Announce Sharecare Inc., a Web 3.0 Platform, Organizing and Answering the Questions of Health". Bloomberg. November 2, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- "Sharecare aims to be humble host for health apps". MobiHealthNews. 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- "Sharecare Announces $14 Million Growth Equity Financing Led by Galen Partners, the Acquisition of The Little Blue Book Physician Reference and Jeff Arnold to be CEO". Sharecare. 2012-01-17.
- "Sharecare Announces the Acquisition of RealAge". Sharecare. 2012-03-12.
- "Sharecare Announces the Acquisition of PKC Corporation". Sharecare. 2012-06-18.
- "Sharecare Announces Acquisition of BACTES". Sharecare. 2013-07-01.
- "Wellness platform Sharecare to buy health business from Healthways". Reuters. 2016-07-27.
- Elliott, Stuart (2010-10-06). "Web Site to Offer Health Advice, Some of It From Marketers". ’’The New York Times’’.
- Moukheiber, Zina (2010-11-16). "Names You Need To Know In 2011: Sharecare". Forbes.
- "Dr. Mehmet Oz and Jeff Arnold launch Sharecare.com, where experts share their knowledge with consumers". Health in 30. 2010-10-08. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
- "Sharecare's AskMD Wins Appy Award for Best Medical App". VentureBeat. 2014-05-23.
- "Mobile health apps from EHR to diabetes picked as Webby award honorees". MedCityNews. 2014-04-18.
- Lee, Chanel (2020-02-25). "Sharecare Acquires Tennessee-Based Healthcare Company Visualize Health". Hypepotamus. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "Sharecare acquires Visualize Health". MobiHealthNews. 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- "Sharecare Acquires Value-Based Care Platform Visualize Health". 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
- Burkitt, Laurie (2009-11-19). "WebMD Founder Matches Marketers With Consumers Who Have Health Concerns". Forbes.
- Elliott, Stuart (2010-10-06). "Web Site to Offer Health Advice, Some of It From Marketers". The New York Times.
- Soderland, Kelly (2013-06-10). "ADA and Sharecare part ways". ADA News.