LAS VEGAS —  Health care industry veterans Chris Dimos, George Riedland, Garry Zage have been named Advisory Board Members for Harvard MedTech. They will work with the senior management team at Harvard MedTech in advancing the market adoption of its Vx Pain Relief Program that is virtual reality (VR) therapy combined with behavioral health interventions for the treatment of pain. The Vx Pain Relief program is a revolutionary digital health modality to treat pain in lieu of narcotics. The Opioid crisis continues to ravage the country. The Vx program is part of the solution and has been delivering meaningful clinical and financial outcomes.

“I am very pleased to have these highly regarded thought leaders and accomplished operating executives join our team in an advisory capacity. All are pharmacists who have extensive experience in all healthcare segments with an emphasis in retail pharmacy and population health,” said Shan Padda, Founder/CEO of Harvard MedTech.

George Riedl is an innovative senior retail healthcare executive with 35 years of experience leading pharmacy, managed care, merchandising and, marketing teams. Most recently, George was President of Pharmacy, Health & Wellness for Walmart US, the world’s largest retailer boasting 2.2 million associates worldwide, 260 million customers served weekly, and $500 billion in annual revenue. Previously, George spent 27 years at Walgreens, the leading retail pharmacy chain with more than 9,000+ stores and 250,000 employees. Throughout his tenure, George has served in a variety of leadership roles including Vice President of Purchasing, Executive Vice President of Merchandising & Marketing and, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Innovation & Purchasing.

George holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois and completed the Management Program at Northwestern University.

Chris Dimos is currently the Chief Operating Officer for AccentCare, Inc. where he is responsible for leading a team of professionals that are dedicated to improving patients’ quality of living. Prior to this role he was President of the Retail Solutions team at McKesson Pharmaceutical Solutions and Services. In that role, Chris was responsible for driving the continued development of McKesson’s U.S. Retail efforts, including the current retail pharmacy business, which included large chain pharmacies, independent pharmacies, the Health Mart franchise, the pharmacy services administration organization (Health Mart Atlas), branded pharmaceutical manufacturer relations, generic pharmaceutical sourcing, and the consumer packaged goods category management teams. Prior to that, he was SVP of Strategy and Business Development at McKesson.

Chris began his professional career as a pharmacist. He held several leadership positions before becoming president of Supervalu Pharmacies and Non-Foods Merchandising. Chris is a graduate of the Purdue University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He also attended Indiana University School of Business.

Garry Zage started his career as a hospital pharmacist and later moved into a hospital administration executive position. He also spent 12 years with Baxter International serving in senior management roles in Baxter’s domestic and international businesses. In 2005, Garry purchased the pharmacy automation company Kirby Lester. Garry served as CEO and President until 2014 when the company was purchased by Capsa Healthcare. He remained as president and served on the executive leadership team of Capsa Healthcare. In 2017, Capsa Healthcare was sold to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners where he remained as president until September 2018.

Garry Zage is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy and holds a Masters in Management degree from DePaul University. Garry was named the University of Illinois Alumnus of the Year in 2012 and sat on the Illinois College of Pharmacy Advisory Board. Today, Mr. Zage serves as a business development advisor to early-stage healthcare companies.

“We launched Harvard MedTech two years ago with the goal of reducing pain and decreasing the usage of opioids. Our Vx Pain Relief Program, a combination of Virtual Reality therapy and behavioral health interventions, has been achieving exceptional clinical and financial outcomes. Most importantly, the patients love it. Our program is a healthy, organic way for injured patients to treat their chronic pain, instead of them using narcotics/opioids. As has been well chronicled, the opioid crisis has already cost over half a million American lives and counting. Through our Vx Pain Relief Program, we have an opportunity to fundamentally alter how pain is treated,” said Mr. Padda. “With our new advisory members, we look forward to utilizing their past experiences to further accelerate our initiative.”