Fruit Street Health Appoints Industry Luminary Dr. David Katz as Senior Medical Advisor

NEW YORK, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fruit Street Health, an industry leader in telemedicine and digital health, has announced the appointment of Dr. David Katz to the role of Senior Medical Advisor, effective immediately. Katz, whose extensive resume and renown places him as a singular voice in preventive and lifestyle medicine, will lend his expertise as a high-ranking consultant within the company, acting as a voice for Fruit Street Health with clients, customers, and in the media.

As the senior medical advisor, Katz will help advance the company's diabetes prevention program (DPP), which provides consultative wellness and lifestyle guidance via telehealth and HIPAA-compliant live group video conferencing. He will also support the company's latest product, CovidMD™, a comprehensive risk assessment, triage, and telemedicine platform built to assist the healthcare system as they navigate the nuances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Fruit Street Health is a company funded and guided by physicians, the enlisting of such an outspoken figure in the field is a testament to the company's commitment to raising the voices of leading doctors in preventive medicine.

"In these uncertain times, it's impossible to overstate how important having a steady hand like Dr. Katz has been," said Laurence Girard, founder and CEO of Fruit Street Health. "His expertise has made him a trusted voice in the industry for a reason, and we are thrilled to have him as an advisor as we continue our mission of creating more access to quality care via telemedicine."

Among Katz's vast list of credentials and accolades includes being the founding director of Yale University's Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and former Director of Medical Studies in Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine. Katz also served as the President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, the leading medical professional association for those dedicated to the advancement and clinical practice of Lifestyle Medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system.

Katz, who is founder and CEO of his own start-up company, Diet ID, has also served as president and founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative. He practiced clinical medicine for more than 25 years and holds numerous awards and commendations for teaching and writing on the field of public health.

Katz's writing earned him a 2019 nomination for a James Beard Foundation Award in health journalism. His prolific contributions to the field have garnered him the unofficial title of "poet laureate of health promotion."

With multiple U.S. patents to his name, Katz also has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, published hundreds of online and newspaper columns, and has authored or co-authored seventeen books to date, including multiple editions of leading textbooks in both preventative medicine and nutrition.

"Fruit Street Health is at the forefront of disease prevention and health promotion as medicine increasingly transitions to digital interfaces — a transition greatly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Katz. "I look forward to working alongside the team to help people manage and minimize acute risks related to the virus, and the chronic health risks that were here all along. There has never been a better time to focus on improving overall health in America, and we intend to be right in the thick of that effort."

For more information on Fruit Street Health, visit www.fruitstreet.com.
For more information on CovidMD, visit www.covidmd.com 

About Fruit Street Health
Fruit Street Health is a physician-funded telehealth company that offers a comprehensive telemedicine software platform for healthcare providers. Fruit Street currently offers the only CDC-recognized online diabetes prevention program (DPP) delivered through live video chat with Registered Dietitians. Founded in 2014 as a public benefit corporation, Fruit Street has raised more than $20 million in capital from over 300+ physicians who are dedicated to making a lasting social impact in healthcare. 

About CovidMD™
CovidMD™ is a new risk assessment, triage and telemedicine platform created to help the healthcare system respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. On CovidMD, the public is given trusted information about their risk for developing serious illness from COVID-19 based on CDC guidelines, personalized details on available healthcare resources, prescriptions, lab testing, and the opportunity to connect with a doctor via live video chat for a telemedicine appointment. Fruit Street Health, a leading telehealth company based in New York City, launched CovidMD in 2020.

SOURCE Fruit Street Health