Wellview has been recognized as one of the 20 Innovative Companies to Watch of 2021 by The Executive Headlines.

 

Wellview was founded in 2014. The company is headquartered in Nashville, TN.

 

Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between The Executive Headlines and James Story, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder and Dr. Cole Barfield, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder of Wellview

What influenced or motivated you to start this venture? 

Today, U.S. healthcare systematically focuses on the treatment of illness or health conditions, what we call “reactive care,” leaving overall health maintenance and disease prevention and management for people to figure out on their own. The traditional system also takes a cookie-cutter approach, treating people as a health condition and not as a consumer. This method assumes patients with a shared condition also have the same needs, perceptions, and behaviors, resulting in only 8% of Americans complying with recommended care guidelines. 

We’ve found people want and need a trusted brand that simplifies access to hyper-personalized prevention and disease management resources, so we founded

Wellview with the mission to inspire and impact lives through a new consumer-driven healthcare experience.  

What do you feel are the reasons behind your company’s reputation?

There’s a fundamental reason for our company’s reputation: a steadfast commitment to our culture. Since our founding we’ve believed that in order to build an impactful healthcare business we had to prioritize culture and make our mission paramount. Today we pride ourselves on living out our companies values and have coined them as the “Wellview Way”. 

Tell us about Wellview’s methodology and how AI driven technology and tools play a role?

Our approach blends technology and human interactions to simplify the way people engage with healthcare services. Wellview’s methodology focuses heavily on evidence-based behavior change strategies and is rooted in a collaborative care approach encompassing physical, emotional, mental, and financial wellness support.

Using A.I. technologies, Wellview identifies the intersection of clinical risk, actuarial value, consumer interest and psychographic profiling, allowing the Advisor to personalize the member’s experience and deliver value with every engagement. Wellview Advisors use the technology platform to close gaps in care by navigating the member to a coordinated team of specialist providers, improving compliance and outcomes.

Wellview’s unique approach yields industry-leading engagement rates over 40%, 99% satisfaction for care delivery, and a 10% average claims trend reduction for the engaged participant.

Where do you see Wellview in the next 3-5 years? 

Through Wellview’s unique ability to engage people more frequently in their health journeys, we sit on a tremendous amount of data. We are actively working with A.I. and machine learning firms to take our data and insights to achieve even more predictability of people's interests and behaviors to develop ideal health pathways for optimal care and cost outcomes. For example, we’re looking at the clinical and actuarial value of integrating a mental health therapist into someone's healthcare journey as it relates to a chronic condition like diabetes. We see a future where we’re engaging a member even more proactively and efficiently using customized resources to meet their needs and reduce the overall cost of care.

What are your messages for budding entrepreneurs/young generation?

For us, starting a new venture was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences. Here are just a couple of learnings and recommendations:

• Your “why” matters the most: Know yourself, know your story, build confidence in that story. Share it and protect it.
• People aren’t rejecting you, they’re rejecting either the idea or more often than not, the way the idea is presented.
• Keep your message simple. 

 

Meet the founding duo:

James Story, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Wellview is passionate about a proactive, patient-centered approach to managing population health. With an entrepreneurial spirit and 10 years of experience in the employee benefits industry, he is committed to altering the future cost of healthcare. James’ leadership at Wellview is the culmination of his passion for helping patients better understand the value of preventive care and his track record of growing successful businesses
 

Dr. Cole Barfield, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder of Wellview is a practicing physician who combines his business and medical knowledge to improve healthcare delivery to patients. Cole enjoys patient care and strongly believes in the importance of building a relationship with patients. Cole co-founded Wellview with the mission to provide a proactive, patient-centered approach to managing health. He believes in evidence-based solutions that offer a great experience, a higher quality of life and cost savings to both employers and their employees.

Dr. Christopher Kuzniak, Board Chairman & Co-Founder of Wellview brings a wealth of knowledge as a physician, serial entrepreneur, and public policy advisor. Chris has a unique understanding of the U.S. healthcare system and the need for preventative care. Chris has successfully co-founded several innovative healthcare organizations, with the goal of creating companies that improve healthcare spending.