Connected Health Pioneer, Dr. Joe Kvedar, To Receive Digital Health Innovation Award

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) today announced that connected health pioneer, Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Vice President, Connected Health, Partners HealthCare, will receive its 2nd annual Digital Health Innovation Award. Kvedar is being honored for his leadership, vision and numerous contributions to advancing the connected health field.

The Digital Health Innovation Award will be presented during the closing reception of the Connected Health Conference, on Tuesday, December 13 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. That morning, Kvedar will also deliver the opening keynote presentation on the state of connected health, addressing the market dynamics, barriers and opportunities to success, and his vision for the future of the field. Kvedar and his team at Partners Connected Health are 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. His groundbreaking programs are helping providers and patients better manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness, and improve adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes.

"Long before the Internet, wearable trackers, mobile apps or smartphones, Joe Kvedar was creating a new model of healthcare delivery, putting patients at the center of their care by leveraging technologies to support understanding, engagement and connection," said Patricia (Patty) Mechael, PhD, Executive Vice President, Personal Connected Health Alliance. "There is no one more deserving of this recognition."

Under his two decades of leadership, Partners Connected Health has launched a number of innovative health tracking programs, mobile health, virtual care initiatives and clinical research programs at Partners HealthCare-affiliated hospitals, including Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. He has also conducted seminal studies demonstrating the positive impact of personal health and wellness monitoring to promote and maintain healthy behaviors.

"It's hard to imagine that, just twenty years ago, when we started this journey, what we now call mhealth, digital health or connected health simply didn't exist. Since then, we've invented a radically new way to deliver health and inspire wellness," said Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Vice President, Connected Health, Partners HealthCare. "I'm fortunate to have entered this field on the ground floor and proud to be among some of the earliest pioneers. I'm also honored to be recognized by PCHAlliance and look forward to another two decades of accelerated growth, innovation and healthcare disruption."

Kvedar wrote The Internet of Healthy Things, describing how everyday objects will capture and use real-time biometric data to ultimately change behavior and improve our health. He is internationally recognized for his leadership and vision in the field of connected health, and has authored over 100 publications on the subject; the popular cHealth Blog provides his insights on connected health.

In October PCHAlliance and Partners Connected Health announced that, beginning in 2017, they will merge the Partners Connected Health Symposium and the Connected Health Conference, creating the premier event in the field. The combined Conference will be a content-rich, thought leadership event dedicated to advancing digital and connected health. It will be hosted by PCHAlliance with Partners Connected Health serving as the Organizing Partner. Kvedar will serve as Program Chair for the Conference, Senior Advisor to PCHAlliance and has also joined the PCHAlliance Board of Directors.

Hosted by PCHAlliance, the 2016 Connected Health Conference will take place December 11-14, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington, DC, focusing on the theme "Personal Connected Health for All: Expanding Reach, Accelerating Impact." Formerly the mHealth Summit, the Connected Health Conference was renamed in 2015 to better reflect an increasingly consumer-centered, technology-enabled and collaborative approach to improving health and wellness.

The Conference will showcase the research, evidence, best practices and practical skills supporting positive health outcomes, and promote a collective call to action to reimagine health and wellbeing. In line with PCHAlliance's mission, the conference will also provide opportunities to learn and develop skills that can be immediately applied to advance the adoption and implementation of personal connected health in community and public health as well as healthcare settings.

GENERAL REGISTRATION:  Register for the Connected Health Conference: http://www.pchaconference.org/

MEDIA REGISTRATION:  For information about the PCHAlliance's Connected Health Conference, or for complimentary Media Registration, please contact Gina Cella at 857-239-9198 or [email protected] .

About 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.

About the Connected Health Conference
The Connected Health Conference, formerly the mHealth Summit, is the premier international conference and expo for the exchange of research, evidence, ideas, innovations and opportunities in connected health. In its eighth year, the event features industry-leading keynote presentations, four tracks of dynamic programming, poster presentations, an interactive exhibit floor, pre-conference symposia and high-value networking sessions. The Connected Health Conference is presented by the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS.

About the Personal Connected Health Alliance
The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) is a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS, working to make health and wellness an effortless part of daily life. PCHAlliance is collaborating with industry, healthcare, public policy, research and advocacy groups to convene the global personal connected health community, and to accelerate the technical, business, policy and social initiatives necessary to advance the field. 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 home to Continua, which publishes the annual Continua Design Guidelines, recognized as the international standard for user friendly end-to-end interoperability of personal connected health devices and systems.

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SOURCE Personal Connected Health Alliance

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