Renowned Medical Expert Reed V. Tuckson, MD, To Lead Novu's Clinical Advisory Team

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative health technology and services start-up firm, Novu LLC, announced today that renowned healthcare executive and physician Reed V. Tuckson, MD, has joined the Novu team to lead the company's clinical advisory efforts and to help guide the strategies supporting Novu, the personalized consumer health engagement and rewards platform.

"We are proud that our company has attracted the interest and support of a healthcare professional of Dr. Tuckson's stature," said Tom Wicka, Co-Founder and CEO, Novu.  "His engagement with us indicates his enthusiasm and confidence in Novu's capabilities and its true potential for empowering individuals to manage their own health in partnership with the health system."

Novu is a comprehensive online platform that integrates rich health and wellness content and activities with personalization, engagement, gamification and rewards in a single product – a combination that has proven to motivate individuals to make lifestyle changes to improve health.

Novu's health and wellness content includes more than 200 two-week-long programs, which are based on proven research by experts from leading U.S. universities.  The current Novu programs cover the areas of nutrition, strength, cardio, stress management, life purpose and, just launched last month, smoking cessation. The member experience will soon include programs for sleep health and financial wellness. 

People use Novu to take charge of their health by setting personal goals, monitoring their progress against those goals, learning about health and wellness, competing in challenges with online communities, improving their lifestyles and being rewarded for achievements.  The company continues to differentiate itself by developing tailored health and wellness engagement solutions for Medicare and Medicaid, in addition to the health services and commercial employer segments.

"It is no secret that in the current health and medical care environment, individuals must be supported in making optimal and personally appropriate health decisions," said Reed Tuckson, MD, Managing Director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC.  "I am energized by the unique capabilities of the Novu team and its ability to combine advanced consumer engagement strategies with cutting-edge technologies in this important area."

Novu Strengthens Leadership Team for Expansion Path
Now through its year-long study phase and into a full commercial launch, the Novu team is staffing up to support the expansion and usage of the comprehensive online technology platform.   Novu also announced today that it has filled two additional important leadership roles.  Andrew Cone has joined Novu as Executive Vice President of Sales.  Cone comes to Novu with more than 27 years of diverse healthcare industry experience, most recently with Optum where he served as the company's Senior Vice President of Payer Solutions Sales.  Jordan Mauer has joined Novu as Vice President of Marketing.  Mauer has more than 15 years of experience as a marketing executive, most recently as Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing for Activision. Both Mauer and Cone report to Tom Wicka.

Proven Solution:  Study & Survey Results
Novu recently completed its study with thousands of participants that completed nearly 19,000 personalized Novu health and wellness programs focused on nutrition, strength and cardio.  The study results revealed that frequent usage of Novu is a key factor in its success to drive real personal lifestyle changes and enhanced individual health.

During the study the top 25 percent of active members:

• Averaged almost six visits per week – nearly daily usage.
• Participated in at least two programs.
• Completed an average of nine challenges during a three-month period.
• Accumulated more than 13 million reward points collectively.

Novu also conducted a recent survey of the study participants and found:

• 93 percent of those using the nutritional programs indicated that their primary goal was either to lose weight or to improve nutritional habits.
• More than 80 percent of those surveyed indicated that they believe Novu nutrition and fitness-related programs helped them reach their personal health goals.
• Nearly 70 percent saw their Body Mass Index (BMI) decrease more than seven percent. 

About Reed V.Tuckson, MD
Reed V. Tuckson, MD, is currently the managing director of Tuckson Health Connections, LLC, a health and medical care consulting business that brings people and ideas together to promote optimal health outcomes and value through innovation and integration across the fields of prevention: public health; consumer activation; quality care delivery; the translation of science and technology into value producing interventions; and optimization of big data and analytics.  Prior, he enjoyed a long tenure as Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth Group. He has served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the National Institutes of Health, is an active member of the Institute of Medicine, serving in a leadership position on the use of data and analytics in healthcare, and served on various U.S. Government cabinet-level health advisory committees for health reform, infant mortality, children's health, violence and radiation testing.   He served as the Commissioner of Public Health for the District of Columbia; Senior Vice President for Professional Standards for the American Medical Association; Senior Vice President for the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation; and President of the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. 

He is a graduate of Howard University, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania's General Internal Medicine Residency and Fellowship Programs, where he was also a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar studying at the Wharton School of Business.

About Novu
Novu is a Minneapolis-based innovative health technology services company with the sole purpose of breaking down the barriers to wellness and enabling everybody to lead and live a healthy lifestyle. 

The company has created its personalized consumer health engagement and rewards technology platform, also called Novu, which is a comprehensive online tool where people can take charge of their health by setting goals, monitoring their progress, improving their lifestyles, learning about health and wellness, engaging with online communities in challenges and competitions and getting rewarded for achieving milestones. The technology platform is integrated with customized engagement solutions that Novu creates specifically for each new client organization and its community's unique needs.  Weekly challenges add a fun gamification element. Novu members can find peers to engage with and compete against online. Rewards come in the form of points, which can be redeemed for discount offers, charitable donations and a chance to win popular electronics and trips in weekly raffles.

Novu is committed to building the world's largest and most engaged wellness community and to prove that "healthy is good for everyone."  The team firmly believes that when people live healthier, everyone benefits:  insurers, healthcare providers, employers, employees, individuals, families and entire communities.  The company sells the Novu platform primarily to health insurance companies, corporate employers and health services organizations.  Insurance companies are eager to help their members achieve wellness and to also reap the benefits of insured members' enhanced health with reduced claims.  Corporate employers offer Novu as a Corporate Wellness Program to drive enhanced health among their employee bases, and thus enjoy increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.  Health service providers integrate Novu into their service offering to better serve the patient community with the tools and services to treat various medical conditions, enhance patient care and overall health.  For more information please visit www.novu.com.

Media: Mardi Larson, 612.928.0202 or [email protected]

SOURCE Novu LLC