CVS and IBM commit $1.5M to promote innovation in community health centers
CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, IBM and the National Association of Community Health Centers announced a $1.5 million commitment to a grant program designed to support the use of innovative technology in community health centers.
The "Technology Solutions for Smarter Health" grants will be distributed to U.S. community health centers to enhance technology infrastructure to support increased patient engagement, patient care and better outcomes. Specifically, it will aid centers in implementing secure electronic messaging and also provide patients with the ability to view, download and transmit their health information online.
"We know that community health centers are seeing an increase in the number of patients they care for as a result of changes in our healthcare system, which is why we are partnering to invest in innovative technology solutions that will give them additional ways to communicate with patients and provide them with easy access to their health information," said Eileen Howard Boone, president of CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, in a statement.
Currently, more than 9,000 health center sites nationwide are providing care for more than 22 million patients.