Pediatric health care center Boston Children’s Hospital and digital healthcare specialist MORE Health announced a partnership that will give patients in China access to the physicians and services of the hospital through MORE’s Physician Collaboration Platform.

WHY IT MATTERS

The company’s Co-Diagnosis service is delivered by a HIPAA-compliant online platform, which lets physicians deliver a diagnosis and treatment plan to patients in collaboration with their treating physicians in their home countries.

Patients sign on via an online portal and receive a case manager that collects their medical data and connects them to a specialist for a second opinion.

"We are delighted to offer this extraordinary institution for our pediatric patients and their families seeking world-class care for complex disease," MORE Health co-founder and CEO Hope Lewis said in a statement. "Boston Children's Hospital truly does make the impossible possible for patients around the globe."

Overall, the company’s Physician Collaboration Platform is designed to minimize errors while also resolving potential conflicts regarding the diagnosis and treatment plan development by physicians.

MORE offers a collaborative approach to diagnosis with the aim of delivering the most effective treatment plan, and guarantees delivery of their services within five business days of receiving the relevant medical records.

THE BIGGER TREND

Boston Children's is one of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States and offers a range of health care services for children from birth through 21 years of age.

"With the amazing care and work being done by our surgeons, doctors and clinicians, Boston Children's provides better access and overall experience for families every day," Steven Fishman, president of the Boston Children's Physicians Organization, said in a statement. "The partnership creates a pathway for families who may not be located near one of our hospitals to consult with our experts."

The partnership caps a month of deals for MORE, which also teamed up with the Insurance Office of America (IOA) — employees of IOA clients can now receive access to second opinions when faced with decisions regarding serious, life-changing illnesses.

MORE connects each patient’s attending doctors with one of its physician specialists to jointly develop a comprehensive and collaborative response to a diagnosis together with the optimum treatment plan.

In addition, the company partnered with cancer research and treatment center City of Hope, which boats one of the largest, most successful bone marrow transplant programs of its kind in the United States.

The collaboration aims to provide international patients access to expert interpretation and best application of targeted therapies and research, as well as to clinical trials for both solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.

The market for telemedicine has ballooned in the past decade to include players like Doctor On Demand and AMD Global Telemedicine as well as online second opinion programs by major hospitals including UCSF.

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.

Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com

Twitter: @dropdeaded209 

Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.