A longtime local entrepreneur has started a public charity to make the technology his company sells available in communities facing significant health disparities.
PatientPoint, the latest company created by entrepreneur Mike Collette, earlier this month announced the launch of the PatientPoint Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. Collette is a pioneer in aperture and point-of-care marketing. He co-founded OnTarget Media and Healthy Advice Networks, which evolved into PatientPoint. Its work focuses on making the doctor-patient engagement better. Through about 140,000 healthcare provider relationships, PatientPoint is being used in about 750 million patient visits annually.
A native of New York, Collette holds an engineering degree from Dartmouth College and began his career at Procter & Gamble, working in the health and personal care divisions. Collette has served as executive-in-residence at CincyTech USA, helping other entrepreneurs turn transformational ideas into high-growth technology companies.
The purpose of the foundation is to reach people in high-priority communities most impacted by health disparities and change the dynamics to ultimately make community health engagement better.
The foundation will leverage a community-based strategy to address preventable disease and suffering for those challenged by strong negative social determinants of health. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health will receive special focus. To accomplish its goal, the foundation will bring relevant health education and interactive technology into non-traditional community settings as well as traditional clinical settings.
“The PatientPoint Foundation represents a bold new approach to achieving health equity by bringing industry-leading health education and technology into communities that need it at meaningful scale,” said Collette, who will serve as the foundation’s board chair. “In doing so, the foundation leans into the vision of PatientPoint to make the every in ‘making every doctor-patient engagement better’ true for all people.”
Foundation programming will begin in Cincinnati and Columbus, with the long-term goal of national expansion.
“Through a powerful combination of proximity, relationship, trust and highly scalable technology, our innovative model confronts health disparities at their root cause at the community level,” said PatientPoint Foundation CEO Denyse Ferguson. “Partnering with trusted community members to enhance the health journeys of all people—coupled with a rigorous approach to analyzing effectiveness and outcomes—will allow us to deliver unprecedented results.”
The PatientPoint Foundation’s fund development strategy will include corporate giving, sponsorships and grants as well as individual and private donations. The foundation’s board includes executives from Fortune 500 companies such as Cintas and Procter & Gamble.
“The PatientPoint Foundation approach to achieving health equity is a paradigm shift and serves as a call to action for funders and corporations to support innovative, outcomes-based approaches,” said Damon Frost, PatientPoint Foundation board member and Procter & Gamble global beauty care chief information officer. “As a CIO, I’m energized about the promise of leveraging technology and digital to reach people in high-need communities to galvanize movement and better health for all.”