Partners Connected Health and the Personal Connected Health Alliance today announced a new partnership to improve health outcomes by accelerating the adoption of personal connected health and establishing the singular leadership event focused on the future of technology-enabled health and wellness. As part of this collaboration, they will merge the Partners Connected Health Symposium and the Connected Health Conference starting next year, creating the premier event in the field.
Beginning in 2017, the Partners Connected Health Symposium and the PCHAlliance Connected Health Conference (formerly the mHealth Summit) will combine to create the largest event dedicated to digital and connected health. The event will be hosted by PCHAlliance with Partners Connected Health serving as the Organizing Partner, under the banner of the Connected Health Conference.
Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Vice President, Connected Health at Partners HealthCare, will serve as Program Chair for the newly combined event, and Senior Advisor to PCHAlliance. He has also joined the PCHAlliance Board of Directors. At Partners, Dr. Kvedar is creating a new model of healthcare delivery, developing innovative strategies to move care from the hospital or doctor's office into the day-to-day lives of patients.
"For over 20 years, we have focused on connected health innovation, creating and implementing evidence-based programs that have significantly changed the way we deliver care to the 1.5 million patients Partners serves. Our broader mission is to educate, inform and inspire the adoption of connected health strategies," said Dr. Kvedar. "The partnership with PCHAlliance and merger of our events creates an even greater platform and significant opportunities to provide leadership, support innovation and bring together business, government and healthcare leaders to achieve the sustained adoption of personal connected health."
Both events have a solid history and together will best represent how the connected health field is evolving, with increasing interest from major companies, investors, government agencies and consumers, and growing acceptance from healthcare providers. Now in its eighth year, the Connected Health Conference has built upon the success of the mHealth Summit, focusing on an increasingly consumer-centered, technology-enabled approach to improving health.
"This new collaboration with Dr. Joe Kvedar and Partners Connected Health reflects PCHAlliance's commitment to mobilizing collective action to improve health outcomes by delivering the very best content, education and opportunities, and achieving connected health for all. Joe is the acknowledged pioneer in the field and brings a critical healthcare provider perspective, experience implementing real-world programs grounded in clinical research and an unmatched understanding of the market," added Patricia Mechael, PhD, Executive Vice President, PCHAlliance. "Advancements in medicine and technology, combined with new economic healthcare models, are setting the stage for an overdue transformation to a new, patient-driven approach to health that can only be achieved if we all work together."
PCHAlliance's goal is to make positive behavior change the norm and improved health outcomes through technology a reality. The Alliance strives to fuel product development; facilitate collaboration, research and knowledge-sharing; and create a body of evidence to support the sustained adoption of personal connected health strategies that meet urgent health needs.
Partners Connected Health
Partners Connected Health, at Partners HealthCare, is leveraging information technology – mobile phones, tablets, wearables, sensors and remote health monitoring tools – to deliver quality patient care outside of traditional medical settings. Partners Connected Health programs are also helping providers and patients better manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness and improve adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes. The Connected Health team creates and deploys mobile technologies in a number of patient populations and care settings, and is conducting innovative research studies to test the effectiveness of mobile health technologies in various clinical applications, including medication adherence, care coordination, chronic disease management, prevention and wellness.
Partners HealthCare, an integrated health system founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, includes two academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a managed care organization, community health centers, a physician network, home health and long-term care services, and other health care entities. Partners HealthCare is committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. Partners is one of the nation's leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
Personal Connected Health Alliance
The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) works collaboratively with health, technology and life sciences, public policy, research and advocacy groups to support a new norm of personal health engagement, positive behavior change and improved wellbeing and health outcomes. PCHAlliance is focused on driving the agenda, creating an evidence base and mobilizing collective action to achieve personal connected health for all. PCHAlliance hosts the annual Connected Health Conference, an international forum and expo for networking and showcasing advancements in research, innovations and opportunities in personal connected health. PCHAlliance is a HIMSS organization and home to Continua, which publishes the annual Continua Design Guidelines. Continua is recognized as the international standard for user friendly end-to-end interoperability of personal connected health devices and systems.
