Latest news with #healthmanagement
Entrepreneur
05-08-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Linda Yaccarino Is a CEO Again After X Departure
The former NBC executive and X leader is now the CEO of an online GLP-1 health management company. Linda Yaccarino, the former X CEO who resigned in June, has moved on to another chief executive role. Digital health platform, eMed Population Health, which offers chronic care management related to obesity and type 2 diabetes (and access to GLP-1s), announced in a press release on Tuesday that it has appointed Yaccarino as CEO. Related: Who Is Linda Yaccarino? Everything to Know About X's Former CEO "The healthcare industry has been disrupted by technology, but not yet completely transformed by it," Yaccarino said in a statement. "There is an opportunity to combine technology, lifestyle, and data in a new powerful way through the digital channels that impact consumers directly in ways that have never been done before." In the statement, eMed says its mission is "to make safe, effective, and sustainable chronic care accessible directly through an all-in-one, digital-first experience." Yaccarino began as CEO of X in May of 2023, about six months after Elon Musk bought the company, then known as Twitter, for $44 billion. Related: 'Futures Are Intertwined': Elon Musk xAI Buys His Own Social Media Platform, X, in a $33 Billion Deal When Yaccarino publicly announced her resignation on X in June, owner Musk replied to the post with a short: "Thank you for your contributions." Before joining X in 2023, Yaccarino was the chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
Wall Street Journal
05-08-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Linda Yaccarino Joins eMed Population Health After Departure From Musk's X Platform
Linda Yaccarino is joining eMed Population Health as its chief executive officer, just weeks after stepping down as CEO of Elon Musk's social-media company X. Miami-based eMed, which focuses on health management for the GLP-1 and GIP population, said Yaccarino's experience will be critical as it expands its services to accommodate new employers and government partnerships.
Health Line
11-07-2025
- Health
- Health Line
What Is Hyperglycemia and How Do You Manage It?
Key takeaways Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) can develop over time and may not be immediately noticeable, but it can lead to serious health issues if not addressed. It may be caused by not getting the right dosage of insulin, eating more carbs than usual, illness, and infection, among others. Symptoms may include excessive thirst, excessive urination, blurry vision, fatigue, and sores that won't heal. In severe cases, hyperglycemia may cause diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS). Managing blood sugar levels through regular monitoring, managing diabetes, exercise, and a balanced diet are key to preventing and treating hyperglycemia. Several factors can contribute to hyperglycemia, including dietary choices and a sedentary lifestyle. Chronic high blood sugar is a symptom of diabetes. Regular blood glucose testing is crucial for people with diabetes. This is because many people don't feel the effects of hyperglycemia. Symptoms of hyperglycemia According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), target blood glucose levels for people with diabetes are typically: between 80 and 130 mg/dL before you've eaten under 180 mg/dL 2 hours after the first bite of your meal Blood sugar levels that are higher than that may indicate unmanaged or undiagnosed diabetes or a need to adjust your diabetes treatment. You may not feel the effects of hyperglycemia until levels are very high for an extended period of time. If you experience symptoms of hyperglycemia, it's important that you check your blood glucose levels and connect with a doctor. Hyperglycemia symptoms that may develop over several days or weeks include: The longer the condition is left untreated, the more severe it may become. Long-term effects of hyperglycemia include: eye disease kidney disease cardiovascular disease neuropathy, or nerve damage Medical emergencies Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome (HHS) are two conditions caused by very high glucose levels. Contact a doctor straight away if you suspect you've developed DKA or HHS. DKA generally occurs in people with type 1 diabetes and is less common with type 2 diabetes. However, not everyone with these blood glucose levels will have DKA. In addition to the usual symptoms of hyperglycemia, a person with DKA may also have: ketonuria, or a higher-than-usual amount of ketones in their urine breath that smells fruity gastrointestinal issues, such as nausea, vomiting, or pain dry skin confusion People with HHS typically have a blood glucose level over 600 mg/dL. In addition to excessive thirst and urination, symptoms may include: fever dehydration neurological symptoms, such as confusion or delirium Hyperglycemia causes A number of factors can contribute to hyperglycemia, including: not getting the right dosage of insulin or other glucose-lowering medication eating more carbohydrates than usual being less physically active than usual illness or infection high levels of stress physical trauma, such as an orthopedic injury If you have diabetes, you may also experience regular episodes of high blood sugar between 3 a.m. and 8 a.m., before you have eaten anything. This is known as the Dawn phenomenon. You could also experience the Somogyi effect, which is where you take insulin before bed and wake up with high blood sugar. Treatment for hyperglycemia Several treatments are available for chronic high blood sugar. Monitor your glucose levels An important part of managing diabetes is checking your blood glucose levels often, such as before you eat, after you eat, or at bedtime. Then, record that number in a notebook, blood glucose log, or blood glucose tracking app so you and your doctor can monitor your treatment plan. Knowing when your blood glucose levels are getting out of your target range can help you get your blood glucose back on track before more significant complications arise. Get moving Exercise is one of the best and most effective ways to keep your blood glucose levels where they should be and lower them if they get too high. If you're on medications that increase insulin, talk with your doctor to determine the best times to exercise. If you have complications such as nerve or eye damage, ask your doctor which exercises might suit you best. The American Diabetes Association notes that if your blood glucose level is above 240 mg/dL, your doctor may want to check your urine for ketones. Exercising when ketones are in your body may cause your blood glucose level to rise even higher. While it's rare for those with type 2 diabetes to experience this, if you have high blood glucose and ketones, you should avoid exercise. Analyze your eating habits Work with a dietitian or nutritionist to construct a nutritious, interesting selection of meals that can help you manage your carbohydrate intake and prevent higher blood glucose levels. Diet plans you may want to explore include: the keto diet, which is low carb and high fat the Mediterranean diet the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet a vegetarian or vegan diet Evaluate your treatment plan Your doctor may reevaluate your diabetes treatment plan based on your personal health history and your experiences with hyperglycemia. They may change the amount, type, or timing of your medication. Don't adjust your medications without first talking with your doctor or diabetes educator. Preventing hyperglycemia A few lifestyle changes may help prevent hyperglycemia. Try the tips below: Test yourself regularly: Test and record your blood glucose levels on a regular basis each day. Share this information with your doctor at every appointment. Manage your carb intake: Know how many carbohydrates you're getting with each meal and snack. Strive to stay within the range approved by your doctor or dietitian. Keep this information with the records of your blood glucose levels. Be diabetes smart: Have an action plan for if and when your blood glucose reaches certain levels. Take your medication as prescribed, being consistent about the amount and timing of your meals and snacks. Have alcohol in moderation: Although hypoglycemia is a more likely outcome, drinking large amounts of alcohol can eventually lead to high blood glucose levels. If you're having alcohol, choose a drink that's low in carbs and sugar. Wear medical identification: Medical bracelets or necklaces can help alert emergency responders to your diabetes if there's a greater problem. When to contact a doctor Seek immediate medical attention if you experience symptoms of DKA or HHS, like: shortness of breath nausea or vomiting fever confusion dry mouth Contact a doctor if your blood glucose readings are consistently high, whether in a fasting state or after meals. Also, let your doctor know if their recommended lifestyle measures are not making a difference in your readings. Make an appointment if you notice new or worsening issues with your vision or skin or if you suspect you have nerve damage or other health issues that relate to high blood sugar. To prepare for your appointment: Bring a record of your blood sugar readings, including when your readings were taken and whether they were taken with or without food. Pay close attention to any instructions a medical professional gives you regarding blood work — you may need to fast. Bring a list of your current medications and supplements, as well as a list of questions to ask your doctor.
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
WeightWatchers names new medical chief, plans to offer menopause therapy and support
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - WeightWatchers on Tuesday named Dr. Kim Boyd as chief medical officer and said it was planning a new program to help women manage the transition into menopause and beyond, as part of its growth strategy in emerging from bankruptcy. Reuters exclusively reported the appointment earlier in the day. Boyd, a Stanford University graduate who has worked with several consumer health startups, said in an interview WeightWatchers is building upon its decades-long work providing weight management tools to also address the specific needs of people using obesity treatments. That includes Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens new tab Zepbound. The company says its model promoting balanced eating and exercise helps subscribers reduce gastrointestinal side effects from the medicines and lose more weight on Wegovy. "We have the foundation, and we will continue to evolve our programming to show up in a way that matches best with the addition of medications," Boyd said. WeightWatchers CEO Tara Comonte said such support for members using weight-loss drugs should appeal to health insurers and employers who pay for health benefits as they seek more sustainable management of the costly medications. "It's a different business model and these partnerships and relationships take a much longer period of time than dialing up some direct to consumer marketing or promotional models," Comonte said. The program for perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause will include access to prescription treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, as well as behavioral and nutritional support for members, a significant proportion of whom are women ages 40 to 60 years old, WeightWatchers said. More details will become available later this year, the company, also known as WW International, said. 'It is a very natural overlap. In the perimenopausal and menopausal phase, up to 70% of women experience weight gain,' Boyd said. Boyd previously served as national medical director at One Medical, a clinical business now owned by (AMZN.O), opens new tab, and later was chief medical officer at weight-management company Calibrate. Her appointment comes nearly a year after previous Chief Medical Officer Dr. Amy Meister stepped down. In the interim, WeightWatchers emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after struggling to compete with other online weight-management platforms selling cheaper, compounded versions of obesity treatments, including telehealth companies like Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.N), opens new tab. The market for weight-management companies is changing since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered an end to sales of compounded versions of Wegovy in late May. WeightWatchers last month announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk to sell Wegovy through the drugmaker's NovoCare pharmacy. Hims & Hers continues to offer smaller doses of compounded Wegovy than what is available from Novo, arguing they are providing a personalized medication that is not subject to the FDA ban. Industry analysts, however, have questioned whether that strategy will leave Hims vulnerable to legal challenges. Hims has said it also plans to expand into testosterone and menopause treatments as part of its growth strategy in the coming years. WeightWatchers has stopped selling compounded weight-loss drugs, and its partnership with Novo may prove more attractive to employer-sponsored health plans in the long run, Boyd said. "At the foundation of this is prescribing FDA-approved medications," Comonte said. 'We only prescribe branded drugs." A month's supply of Wegovy is listed at over $1,000 per month, but many people pay less through insurance. Cash-pay patients can access the treatment for $499 through NovoCare. "For employers, some of them are finding value in these vendors like WeightWatchers... that give the members the lifestyle tools," said Chantell Reagan, a senior director at advisory firm Willis Towers Watson. These strategies may help an employee sustain weight loss if they stop using a drug, she said. "We are looking very closely at our employers that are using these programs and assessing the effectiveness."
Medscape
24-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Peer-Led Weight Loss Maintenance Proves Superior
Can a mentor/peer-led strategy surpass professionally led behavioral weight management sessions in helping patients with obesity maintain weight loss? If the findings of a recently published study are any indication, then the promise of keeping weight off after initial weight loss might be closer than ever. Obesity treatments (eg, bariatric surgery, lifestyle management, and medications like GLP-1s) have been shown in clinical trials and real-life settings to help patients with obesity lose anywhere from 10% to 60% of excess body weight, with added improvements in cardiovascular disease risk factors. Tricia M. Leahey, PhD But these gains are commonly fleeting, Tricia M. Leahey, PhD, lead study author, a professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences, and director of the Institute for Collaboration on Health Intervention and Policy at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, told Medscape Medical News . 'Regardless of how people lose weight, they tend to regain the weight they lost. It starts quickly after initial treatment, and within 1-3 years, most have returned to their pretreatment weight,' she said. Biology plays a critical role. 'Because of biology — what we call metabolic adaptation to weight loss — the brain is always trying to push people back to their heaviest fat mass, unless they have tools like medicines or surgery,' said Gretchen Aames, PhD, clinical health psychologist and assistant professor of psychology in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida. 'I think that people underestimate the effort that it takes to keep the weight off,' she said. 'There's also psychology and behavior that's associated with weight management,' said Leahy, who added that continuous care strategies (ie, regular professional contact, skills training, and behavioral and social support sessions that are delivered biweekly and gradually tapered over time) can be costly. From Professional to Peer Support Leahy and her colleagues have conducted several studies examining the potential role that trained mentors (people who have previously faced and overcome a health situation) and 'peer dyads' (patient pairs initiating health behavior change matched to support one another) might play in helping individuals with obesity maintain initial weight loss. Their latest effort was a two-phase, proof-of-concept trial in which participants first received a 4-month online obesity treatment lifestyle intervention that was based on the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). (DPP is a lifestyle change program designed to help prevent or delay diabetes in adults with prediabetes.) In phase 2, participants who achieved ≥ 5% weight loss were randomly assigned to an 18-month patient-provided weight maintenance program (n = 153) or to professionally delivered, 90-minute standard-of-care (SOC) sessions (n = 134) tapered over time. Participants' mean age was 53.6 years, and the majority (83.6%) were women. Patient-directed programs were delivered by two trained mentors who had previously lost ≥ 7% of body weight and kept it off for ≥ 1 year and who held 90-minute group sessions tapered over time. In the first seven sessions, the content was focused on peer training, empathic listening, and sandwich feedback (initiating feedback with a supportive comment, providing constructive suggestions or support, and ending with a supportive comment.) Peers were study participants who were randomly paired by gender and age range (18-30 years, 30-40 years); reciprocal support was composed of weekly progress reports and feedback exchanges delivered by text or email. 'We tried to match participants based on similarity and familiarity (ie, how much peers felt similar to or familiar with one another),' explained Leahey. 'We also did relationship development and induction activities (to create emotional closeness) and avoid conflict,' she said. Participants receiving the mentor/peer intervention were better able to maintain their weight loss compared with SOC participants (mean weight change at month 18: 0.77 [standard deviation, 0.46] kg vs 2.37 [standard deviation, 0.50] kg, respectively) throughout the trial. They also achieved significantly lower cardiovascular measures, namely diastolic blood pressure and resting heart rate, and engaged in significantly more physical activity. Are Mentor/Peer-Delivered Weight Maintenance Programs Ready for Prime Time? 'A lot of people don't have access to these maintenance interventions due to insurance access or availability of trained providers,' said Kathryn M. Ross, PhD, MPH, senior research scientist at Advocate Aurora Health Research Institute, Milwaukee, and author of the accompanying editorial. 'Looking into newer models that have more implementation potential, such as peer and mentor support, has a lot of potential.' Kathryn M. Ross, PhD, MPH 'But we don't know from one study if this is something that is ready to take country-wide in clinical practice,' she said. 'It's also unclear which components of the patient-delivered program are critical for successful implementation.' A key element is training. Leahey emphasized that the researchers continued to refine the training model study by study, eventually landing on factors like age, gender, and empathic listening and feedback strategies that encouraged compassion and cohesiveness. 'I have some patients doing this for me,' said Nida Latif, MD, a family practitioner and obesity specialist running a private practice in Westland, Michigan, and spokesperson for the Obesity Medicine Association, pointing to one in particular. 'She achieved a lot of success (she had bariatric surgery in her 30s and is now in her 60s; she has maintained a BMI of 27-28, from a BMI of 50), she reversed her diabetes and atrial fibrillation and is off all blood pressure medications,' said Latif. Though Latif said that the patient is a great advocate and has taken some of the burden off her shoulders in terms of time and resource utilization, she emphasized the need for professional oversight. 'Every so often, I have to harness her back. She's come so far that she's forgotten how difficult the change process is. I help her understand that it's a slow process. I identify struggles, the importance of helping patients change just one habit over a period of three to four weeks so they become more consistent,' said Latif. 'Even if it's someone who has had success, they need to adjust to whomever they're trying to help. And touch base with me every so often to discuss challenges.' Chronic Disease and Chronic Maintenance An important challenge to weight loss maintenance is the disease itself. Though a chronic illness, obesity is not always accepted as such by physicians or insurers, leaving patients to grapple with weight cycling on their own. Gretchen Aames, PhD 'If you have to leave your biases at the door,' said Aames. 'There are studies that show that the prevailing thought among primary care physicians and nurses is that weight loss is the patient's responsibility: Eat less, move more. Instead, they should take the time to figure out what their patients know, what they've tried, and things that are sustainable,' she said. 'Maybe they need a little bit of coaching and information and can run with it. Others will need more. We don't know enough yet who is the right person for the peer strategy or the critical components of this type of intervention that will help people.' For now, physicians might want to help patients build their own support networks to help them keep on track without having to try to set something up within an already time- and resource-crunched practice, said Ross. Locally run DPP programs (eg, by the Young Men's Christian Association or churches) are a good starting point. The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Leahey, Ross, Aames, and Latif reported no relevant financial relationships.
