The Center for Connected Health, an offshoot nonprofit of the Boston-based health system Partners Healthcare, is launching its own mobile health (mHealth) application that will aim to help companies understand personal health behaviors.
The research app will connect manufacturers, startups, and investors interested in developing personal health devices with consumers, patients, caregivers and health care professionals. The app, the cHealth Compass, will give these companies access to real patients and providers who can shed insight on what influences health behaviors, severity of medical conditions, lifestyle change and self-management of medical conditions, and technology adoption.
“We have the unique advantage of operating within the Partners HealthCare network, giving us unparalleled access to leading health care providers and their patients, to conduct real-world, real-time research. Companies working with the cHealth Compass will benefit from the same clinical expertise, in-depth knowledge of health and consumer technologies, and innovative outside-the-box thinking and practical real-world experience our team brings to bear,” Joseph C. Kvedar, M.D., Director, Center for Connected Health, said in a statement.
The app will get providers and patients to complete surveys. It will also be used to identify and recruit participants for research studies for companies. This process can include focus group discussions, one-on-one interviews, or participate in-person usability testing and feedback or other data collection activities.
"So often, we see companies develop a device or program in a vacuum, without access to the individuals who could benefit from the product," said Kamal Jethwani, M.D. corporate manager for Research and Innovation at the Center for Connected Health, in a statement. "cHealth Compass enables companies, developers and startups to listen to and learn from the people who will ultimately use their product or service -- patients, health consumers, providers, caregivers and others.”
Kvedar’s Center for Connected Health has become prominent in the industry for piloting mHealth-focused initiatives in underserved areas. These pilots typically rely on patient-generated data.
