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ARLINGTON, Va. and BOSTON, April 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), a HIMSS organization, today announced that the 2018 Connected Health Conference will return to Boston, October 17-19, focusing on Balancing Technology and the Human Element.

During three days of educational programming, deep dive sessions, keynote addresses, workshops and exhibits, CHC18 will explore how thoughtfully embedding technology into healthcare to collect and analyze data will allow providers to focus on the human elements of caring, judgment and emotional intelligence. Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, Vice President, Connected Health, Partners HealthCare, and Professor, Harvard Medical School, will again serve as CHC Program Chair. Dr. Kvedar is also a member of the PCHAlliance Board of Managers.

"We are seeing great momentum and enthusiasm building toward CHC18, and look forward to offering a thought leadership event that will provide a dynamic learning environment and interactive exhibition space designed to facilitate collaborations, networking and, especially, innovation," said Rich Scarfo, Vice President, PCHAlliance, and Director of the Connected Health Conference. "Working with our program team and a distinguished group of advisors, CHC18 will lead the way to achieving better health through information and technology, and revolutionize health and wellness." 

CHC18 Advisory Board
PCHAlliance also announced the CHC18 Advisory Board, comprised of thought leading executives, innovators, healthcare providers and technology experts who will help shape this year's program:

• Joseph C. Kvedar, MD (Program Chair) - Vice President, Connected Health, Partners HealthCare; Professor, Harvard Medical School
• Ashish Atreja, MD, MPH - Chief Innovation and Engagement Officer, Mount Sinai
• Frances Ayalasomayajula, MPH, MSMIS, PMP - Global Healthcare Solutions, Industry Solutions Organization, HP Inc.
• Chris Coburn - Chief Innovation Officer, Partners HealthCare; President, Partners HealthCare International
• Samir Damani, MD, PharmD, FACC - CEO & Director, MintHealth
• Krista Drobac - Executive Director, Alliance for Connected Care
• Paul Nagy, PhD, FSIIM - Deputy Director, Johns Hopkins Medicine Technology Innovation Center; Associate Professor of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Brian O'Connor - Chair, European Connected Health Alliance
• Robert Pearl, MD - Former CEO, The Permanente Medical Group; Former President, The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Group; Forbes Healthcare Contributor and bestselling author of Mistreated: Why We Think We're Getting Good Health Care—and Why We're Usually Wrong
• Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP - Vice President and Chief Health Officer, IBM Corporation
• David Ryan - General Manager, Health Sector, Internet of Things Group, Intel Corporation
• Aenor Sawyer, MD, MS - Director, UCSF Skeletal Health Service, Health Innovation & Technology in Ortho (HITO), Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCSF
• Rasu Shrestha, MD, MBA - Chief Innovation Officer, UPMC

"This year's conference will create an understanding and strategy for bridging the gap between technology and the healthcare providers, patients and consumers who can benefit from connected health," added Kvedar. "Without question, it's time to apply technology to create one-to-many care delivery models, rather than the more traditional one-to-one model that is already overburdened. CHC18 will also focus on critical design strategies to ensure engagement, motivation and efficiencies; opportunities for implementation throughout the care continuum; and policies and practices that will drive disruption."

Since 2017, PCHAlliance has brought together the industry's two leading events --  the Connected Health Conference (formerly the mHealth Summit) and the Partners Connected Health Symposium -- to create an unmatched thought leadership experience. This year's theme, Balancing Technology and the Human Element, will showcase forward-thinking approaches and technologies that are driving integration of connected health into consumer health and care delivery. CHC18 will deliver the latest thinking, emerging applications and technologies, undiscovered entrepreneurs and proven leaders in connected health. The Connected Health Conference will take place October 17-19 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. Registration will open this month.

Personal Connected Health Alliance
The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance), a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS (Health Information and Management Systems Society), believes that health is personal and extends beyond healthcare. PCHAlliance accelerates technical, business, policy and social strategies necessary to advance personal connected health. PCHAlliance members are a vibrant ecosystem of technology and life sciences industry icons and innovative, early stage companies along with governments, academic institutions, and associations from around the world. To support its vision, PCHAlliance convenes the global personal connected health community at the annual Connected Health Conference, the premier international event for the exchange of research, evidence, ideas, innovations and opportunities in personal connected health. The Alliance also publishes and promotes adoption of the Continua Design Guidelines, recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the international standard for safe, secure, and reliable exchange of data to and from personal health devices.

SOURCE Personal Connected Health Alliance