CVS Caremark announces commitment to 'Technology Solutions for Smarter Health' program
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark, in partnership with IBM, has announced a $1.5 million commitment to the "Technology Solutions for Smarter Health" grant program in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers.
The grants will support the use of innovative technology in community health centers to increase patient engagement and to improve patient care and outcomes. The "Technology Solutions for Smarter Health" grants will be awarded to community health centers nationwide that are in need of advanced technology that will help people on their path to better health. The grants will enhance technology infrastructure currently in place to help centers easily communicate and share health information with patients through secure electronic messaging. The technology will 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 health care 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," stated Eileen Howard Boone, president, CVS Caremark Charitable Trust. "We believe that the 'Technology Solutions for Smarter Health' program will provide community health centers and their patients with an opportunity to use technology in a meaningful way to help produce better health outcomes."
Today, more than 9,000 health center sites throughout the country are providing care for more than 22 million Americans. As local, community-based health care systems in rural and urban neighborhoods, health centers are able to provide direct health services that are both affordable and accessible.
The new "Technology Solutions for Smarter Health" program is in addition to the multi-million dollar, multi-year partnership between NACHC and CVS Caremark's foundation, the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust, which has awarded nearly 60 community health centers with "Innovations in Community Health" grants over the past two years to support the development of community-based programs and initiatives that focus on the treatment and management of chronic illnesses, specifically heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and asthma.