Center for Connected Health announces partnership with CHS Health Services

The Center for Connected Health has announced a strategic partnership with a national workforce health management company to boost onsite health clinics and in some case provide access to telemedicine services.

CHS Health Services of Reston, Va., will use its new connections to market telemedicine services to its national network of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1,000 businesses, enhancing the company’s onsite health solutions with access to specialty care providers in the Partners HealthCare network, particularly specialists from Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The Boston-based Center for Connected Health is a division of Partners HealthCare, a network that includes the two hospitals.

"Our partnership with the Center for Connected Health will provide our patients with greater access to medical specialty resources," said CHS President Stuart Clark in a press release. "We are pleased to collaborate with the prestigious Center for Connected Health and anticipate the benefits to include improved patient behavior, improved patient compliance, earlier diagnosis and intervention, all from one of the most reputable organizations in healthcare."

Beginning with its Fortune 500 clients who have employees in remote locations that lack onsite health clinics, CHS will offer telemedicine connections through the Partners Online Specialty Consultations (POSC) system, a web-based application that connects employees and their physicians to the Partners network of more than 4,000 specialists. Company officials say they will expand telemedicine offerings to all businesses, helping to boost the services provided through CHS' onsite health clinics.

"We are committed to improving the quality and accessibility of specialized healthcare and expert second opinions via our Partners Online Specialty Consultation services, and support the strides made by CHS in setting the standard for onsite care," said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, founder and director at the Center for Connected Health, in the press release. "Our partnership will give more patients access to leading medical specialists in the Partners network, to address a range of health conditions, provide expert second opinions and, ultimately, improve clinical outcomes."

Founded in 1995 by the Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals, the Center for Connected Health targets new strategies of delivering healthcare outside the hospital or doctor's office, using new technology such as smartphones, computers, networked devices and remote monitoring tools. The center's goals are to help patients and their providers manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness and improve adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes.

Eric Wicklund

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