GCI launches health education practice

The New York City-based healthcare public relations agency GCI Health has launched a new patient education practice to promote medication adherence and improve overall health outcomes, focusing in particular on patients living with chronic disease. The practice will also offer tools and coaching to help physicians better communicate with their patients.

Called Synchronicity, the practice will be led by Sharon Savel and Cathy Fink. Savel and Fink currently run RxEd, a division of Montclair, New Jersey-based Baer Consulting that focuses on patient education and advocacy relations. Earlier in their careers, the two women founded The Eden Communications Group, a provider of patient education to the pharmaceutical industry that they ultimately sold to Omnicom.

Fink has particular expertise in depression, men's health and cardiovascular disease, and worked on the launches of Zoloft (sertraline), Viagra (sildenafil), Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Clarinex (desloratadine). Savel's key areas include women's health, cardiovascular, central nervous system, urology and asthma and allergy; she helped launch and develop patient education strategies for Celebrex (celecoxib), Aricept (donepezil), Zoloft and Neurontin (gabapentin).

Synchronicity will use methods including multi-channel disease management, interactive patient programmes, influencer outreach, adherence initiatives, direct-to-patient engagement and provider education and support. "Our goal is to supply patients and providers with the right tools and resources needed to facilitate compliance and, ultimately, improve health, while also positively impacting our clients' brands," GCI Health CEO Wendy Lund said in introducing the practice.