StayWell and VUCA Health Collaborate to Expand Availability of Medication Videos

Yardley, PA (PRWEB) February 20, 2017

The StayWell Company and VUCA Health announced today that they are collaborating to help health care providers better manage patient health risks, foster behavior change and improve health literacy among patients. VUCA Health, which created and manages the largest medication video library in the world, will present a demonstration of its video capability at StayWell booth 3443 during HiMSS.

The VUCA library has approximately 500 unique medication videos, over 60 administration technique videos (e.g. insulin injection, inhaler use, patches), and more than 80 condition-specific videos. In total, VUCA content covers over 85 percent of all medications dispensed.

The average video is about 60 seconds long and is designed to help patients understand their prescription medications in a more digestible, digital format. VUCA videos cover medication names, indications, side effects and potential interactions. All videos are available in English and Spanish.

According to Joni Pierce, senior vice president of product management and innovation at StayWell, the arrangement strengthens StayWell's commitment to empowering patients to take an active role in managing their health with a wide range of credible, patient education content.

"We're motivated by knowing that our patient education solutions affect real people and can help them navigate a sometimes challenging, and often confusing, health journey," said Pierce. "VUCA Health videos support StayWell's efforts to improve patient outcomes and satisfaction -- even after they've left the doctor's office."

According to David Medvedeff, chief executive officer of VUCA Health, the name VUCA refers to "volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity" that can be created during military engagements and strategic business planning. This concept is all too often associated with health care situations for patients.

"At VUCA, our mission is to resolve the complexity and ambiguity for today's patients, and instead bring vision, understanding, clarity and action to their journey and the health care industry," said Medvedeff. "We're excited to partner with StayWell to expand our mission and reach."

To learn more about StayWell patient education and engagement solutions, including its collaboration with VUCA Health, visit StayWell at HIMSS booth 3443 on Monday, February 20, at 4:30 p.m., EST for the presentation entitled, "Beyond a Prescription: Enhancing Medication Information Online and On-the-Go."

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About StayWell
StayWell is a health solutions company that uses the science of behavior change to help people live happier, healthier lives. StayWell brings decades of experience working across the health care industry to design solutions for improving individual and organizational health outcomes, managing the health of targeted populations, and creating brand engagement for employers and health care organizations. StayWell programs have received numerous top industry honors, including the C. Everett Koop National Health Award and the Web Health Award for health engagement programs. StayWell also has received URAC and NCQA accreditation for several of its programs. StayWell is majority-owned by Healthcare Services & Solutions, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA ("Merck"). The company is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and also has major locations in Salt Lake City, Utah, and St. Paul, Minn. To learn more, visit http://www.staywell.com.

About Merck
For over a century, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit http://www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).

About VUCA Health
VUCA Health was founded by experts within the pharmacy practice, clinical publishing and technology industries with decades of experience in retail pharmacy, drug reference, clinical content, e-prescribing and database development. By resolving the challenges inherent in healthcare's ongoing evolution, VUCA Health brings vision, understanding, clarity and action to the healthcare industry today.

Media contact Barbara Tabor, APR / 651-230-9192 / barbara(at)taborPR(dot)com

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