Fortune on Monday released its fifth annual Change the World list, which recognizes for-profit companies that are "doing well by doing good," and 16 health care companies made the list.

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Methodology

For the list, Fortune partnered with the Shared Value Initiative and FSG. The Shared Value Initiative is a platform for organizations that want to pursue "business solutions to social challenges," according to Fortune. FSG is a nonprofit social impact consulting firm.

After an initial solicitation for entries, Fortune writers and editors evaluated entries based on four criteria:

• Measureable social impact;
• Business results;
• Degree of innovation; and
• Corporate integration.

Overall, 52 companies made the final list.

Fortune sorted the companies into one of five different "impact segments":

• Economic opportunity/financial inclusion;
• Education/discovery;
• Environmental impact;
• Human rights/social justice; and
• Public health and nutrition.

Fortune also categorized companies by industry.

The health care companies changing the world

The 15 health care companies that are recognized for their impact in public health and nutrition are:  

4. TE Connectivity (Schaffhausen, Switzerland)

TE Connectivity is a consumer electronics company that entered the health care sphere about three and a half years ago. The company produces guide wires and microcatheters that allow doctors to make a simple incision in stroke patients' femoral artery and thread a medical device to a specific area of the brain.

7. Centene (St. Louis)

In 2017, Centene launched its Provider Accessibility Initiative, through which the insurer distributes grants to remove barriers to care for patients with disabilities. The initiative has helped over 123,000 people access care, according to Kelly Buckland, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living, who advised Centene on the initiative.

13. Walgreens (Deerfield, Illinois)

Walgreens' "Balance Rewards for healthy choices" initiative allows customers to earn rewards and discounts by performing tasks related to their health, such as monitoring their glucose or blood pressure. The program reports having over 850,000 active users, and peer-reviewed research has shown associations between members of the program and healthier habits, Fortune reports.

15. BD (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey)

BD develops products to combat antimicrobial resistance, including a test to rapidly detect drug-resistant tuberculosis. BD also trains health care providers to quickly and accurately diagnose and treat infections. BD's efforts in Uganda, for example, have reduced turnaround time for a tuberculosis test from three weeks to three days, according to Fortune.

17. EssilorLuxottica (Charenton-le-Pont, France)

In 2013, Essilor, which is now part of EssilorLuxottica, launched its 2.5 New Vision Generation program, aimed at providing prescription glasses to the 2.5 billion people around the world, mostly in low-income countries, who have uncorrected poor vision. Since the program's launch, Essilor estimates it has provided vision services to 200 million people.

18. Chr. Hansen (Horsholm, Denmark)

Chr. Hansen has produced 30,000 strains of "good bacteria" that it uses in a variety of ways, including extending food life spans, and reducing antibiotic and pesticide use in farming, Fortune writes. After operating for 145 years, Chr. Hansen has customers in 140 countries and helps a billion people each day.

21. Accenture (Dublin)

Accenture has partnered with Amref Health Africa to create LEAP, a mobile learning platform to train community health workers throughout Africa. As of February 2019, LEAP has trained more than 35,000 health workers in Kenya, who help provide their neighbors with medical testing and information about where to get basic medical care.

22. IBM (Armonk, New York)

To reduce the number of casualties related to foodborne illnesses, IBM has created blockchain-based software that can trace the flow of food, especially contaminated food, before outbreaks can happen, Fortune writes. The software tracks more than 100 growers, producers, and sellers of food.

25. Vodacom (Midrand, South Africa)

Medicine stock-outs have become an increasingly common occurrence in South Africa, which is why Vodacom, worked alongside the country's health department to create an app that makes the medicine supply chain more transparent, allowing pharmacists to warn about low stocks. The app was so successful, that Vodacom has since launched it for broader use by private health providers and other public health programs, according to Fortune.

27. GoodRx (Santa Monica, California)

In the eight years since it launched, GoodRx has helped patients find discounts for prescription drugs at more than 70,000 pharmacies worldwide, Fortune reports. The company says it has helped roughly 100 million U.S. residents save over $10 billion on prescription drugs.

31. Lloyds Banking Group (London)

Lloyds Banking Group has introduced a service for its customers that offers them the opportunity to receive counseling. The bank has trained around 500 staff members to be internal mental-health advocates.

33. Narayana Health (Bangalore, India)

Narayana aims to make treatment affordable by being careful with its providers' time. The company has grown to include 24 hospitals, Fortune reports. Senior surgeons arrive only for the most challenging part of a procedure, which allows them to perform four times as many surgeries as a U.S.-based doctor would.

35. Illumina (San Diego)

Illumina has been key in making genomic sequencing more affordable and significantly faster, according to Fortune. According to Stephen Kingsmore, CEO of Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, Illumina's technology has made it so a critically ill baby can have their genome sequenced in as little as 20 hours, meaning the patient can receive care in days rather than weeks.

39. Baidu (Beijing)

Baidu uses artificial intelligence technology to provide health care throughout the remote regions of China, Fortune writes. For example, the company has developed an AI tool to help rural general practitioners, and has developed technology similar to computer vision software to quickly diagnose diseases like breast cancer and pulmonary obstructions.

47. Icon Group (Brisbane, Australia)

Icon Group, the largest private cancer care provider in Australia, aims to provide care to patients regardless of where they are, through telemedicine, remote radiation therapy, and partnerships in underserved areas, Fortune writes.

Fortune's Change the World list also featured Philips, a multinational company that's increasingly focusing on health care products, for its efforts to improve the company's environmental impact.

Amsterdam-based Philips (No. 43) is working to reduce its energy use, with a goal of being carbon-neutral by 2020. The company aims to reduce the energy use of its products, including energy-efficient MRI systems and batteries in electric toothbrushes. In addition, Philips has become a leader in the "circular economy," according to Fortune, attempting to cut its waste to zero by taking back large medical equipment to reuse and refurbish (Mukherjee, "Brainstorm Health," Fortune, 8/19; "Change the World" list, Fortune, 8/19; "Change the World" methodology, Fortune, 8/19).