Personal Health Improvement
Clients
About Us
Mertech is a business development organization that specializes in helping clients capitalize on business opportunities in an efficient and effective manner to meet their goals and objectives. Mertech is comprised of three business units: Personal Health Improvement Program (PHIP), Mertech Health Care Consulting, and Managed Care Information Systems© (MCIS).
John E. Kopacz
Mr. Kopacz began his career with Eli Lilly and Company, one of the United States’ top five pharmaceutical company, as a sales representative. During his tenure at Lilly, Mr. Kopacz gained experience in managing many functions of sales and marketing including international, sales training, and product management.
Building on his experience at Eli Lilly, Mr. Kopacz became a Management Supervisor for the Health and Medical Marketing arm of BBDO International, one of the world’s largest advertising, communication, and consulting agencies. Mr. Kopacz’s responsibilities included strategy formation and execution of plans for new and existing OTC, diagnostic and pharmaceutical products, and business development. Mr. Kopacz’s responsibilities increased each year with BBDO and varied from new business ventures to new product launches with clients such as Abbott, Baxter, Critical Health Care West, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Smith Kline-Beecham.
While at BBDO, Mr. Kopacz founded the hospital and physician practice development unit. This group worked with hospital services such as out-patient surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics, oncology and their health care providers to set and implement strategic plans.
Prior to founding Mertech, Inc., Mr. Kopacz, was a chief business development, marketing and operating officer for two New England companies. The first was a start-up offering a product line for medical oncology patients. The second was a biotechnology company that developed immuno-pharmaceuticals. Mr. Kopacz’s responsibilities included: administration, research and product development management, strategic planning, and business development.
In 1987 Mr. Kopacz and several similarly experienced partners founded Mertech. Mertech serves large and mid-size pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device firms. Primary client services include development and securing product reimbursement, especially with integrated health networks and managed care organizations. (Click here for more information)
Mertech’s newest growth opportunities include development and marketing of software used by health insurers, medical groups, integrated health networks, and quality and disease management. In addition, Mertech markets and operates the Personal Health Improvement Program (PHIP) for large insurers, medical groups and integrated health networks nationwide. To date, thousands of patients in need have experienced the benefit of a mind body intervention. Click here for more information on PHIP – www.mertech.org/phipfp.html
Mr. Kopacz has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelor of Science degree from LaSalle University.
Katherine A. Woodman, RDH
Ms. Woodman began her career as a Registered Dental Hygienist in the State of Florida, devoting her preventive and clinical expertise to pediatric and geriatric communities. Ms. Woodman served as chairperson in coordinating and implementing community Oral Health Programs with generous support from Proctor & Gamble.
Ms. Woodman advanced her career with United Dental Care Company. As Manager of Quality Assurance and Network Development in the Southeast Region; she implemented quality management programs to support Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA) legislation and developed quality management initiatives for disease control with Medicaid supplemental benefits.
Ms. Woodman developed quality assessment tools for state and federal compliance, implemented utilization review protocol, coordinated automated systems processes, and created market analyses for implementation of new product lines.
With CompBenefits Corporation in Atlanta, GA, Ms. Woodman managed new product development for Managed Care, Preferred Provider and Indemnity offerings, coordinated network recruitment activities, and implemented clinical guidelines to support disease management objectives for network providers in 36 states.
She formalized quality assessment of oral healthcare delivery, developed and conducted quality management reviews, implemented data analysis for office and record audits, facilitated regulatory training programs for staff employees, coordinated credentialing verification activities, and administered HMO credentialing audits.
In addition, Ms. Woodman had extensive experience with operational and data management conversion activities, database management systems, utilization management, managing professional communications and developing educational materials.
Since March of 2001 Ms. Woodman has been responsible for all operations at Mertech, Inc. In this capacity, Ms. Woodman oversees the maintenance of Mertech’s software products and interfaces closely with the development function for new additions of the existing products and new products. Ms. Woodman manages the operations for the treatment of patients for PHIP, the nation’s leading mind/body program. In this capacity, Ms. Woodman is directly responsible for client services; patient outreach efforts, patient enrollment, program scheduling, quality management and administrative integration. In these responsibilities Ms. Woodman works closely with clinical management, business development and the market, assisting with customer implementation programs and with new product introductions.
Carl Isihara, MD, PhD
Dr. Isihara began his clinical career in 1986 with the Physicians Group which was initially part of the Harvard Community Health Plan, then part of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and currently exists independently as its own multi-specialty medical practice, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. Harvard Vanguard, which is a major teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School, has consistently ranked as one of the leading health care organizations in the United States. Dr. Isihara was an original member of the Behavioral Medicine Department founded by Dr. Matthew Budd who pioneered the development of the “Ways to Wellness” course which currently exists as the Personal Health Improvement Program. Dr. Isihara continues as a practicing primary care adult internal medicine specialist and continues to directly integrate both preventive and alternative medicine into his clinical practice.
Dr. Isihara has long-standing interests in learning, quality improvement and organizational development and is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Isihara has direct, operational management experience as Chief of his Internal Medicine Department for 8 years, and currently has over 10 years of involvement in governance and strategic planning as a Trustee and Founding Member on the Board of Directors of both Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates and a new parent organization, HealthOne Care Systems. HealthOne is a leader in redesigning the office practice of patient care through its electronic integration across the medical practices of its 5 leading multi-specialty practices in the greater Boston area. He also currently chairs Harvard Vanguard’s Patient Care Assessment and Quality Committee.
Dr. Isihara has a B.S. Degree in Chemistry from Yale University, a Ph.D. in Micro and Molecular Biology from Case Western Reserve University, and his M.D. Degree from the intensive 2 year Ph.D. to M.D. Program from the University of Miami School of Medicine. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and completed his training in Internal Medicine with additional clinical training in Preventive Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
John E. Kopacz, President
Katherine A. Woodman, Director of Operations
Carl Isihara, MD, PhD, Medical Director