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"The launch of Connected Care helps eliminate distance as an obstacle to accessing needed health care in rural parts of Colorado".

The Connected Care network, linking Coloradans to urban Front Range doctors via advanced teleconferencing, goes into action Tuesday after nearly a year in the planning stage. Insurer UnitedHealthcare and hospital system Centura Health officially will launch the system at four rural facilities and three Front Range hospitals ― St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, Littleton Adventist Hospital and St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo. Officials hope to expand the system in the future to more Centura Health facilities and to qualified community health centers, critical access hospitals and rural health clinics.

Connected Care clinics at four sites will use audio, video and medical technologies to connect patients with physicians specializing in several fields, including ear/nose/throat, cardiology, gastroenterology, neurosurgery, critical care/pulmonology and pre- and post-surgery consultations. They are expected to serve as many as 4,800 patient visits per year.

"The launch of Connected Care helps eliminate distance as an obstacle to accessing needed health care in rural parts of Colorado," said Beth Soberg, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, in a news release. "These four sites, and the ones to follow, will build upon our state's current health care infrastructure and provide people in these locations with a more convenient way to receive quality care."

First announced last August, the system's official launch will take place during a scheduled 11 a.m. ceremony Tuesday at St. Anthony Central Hospital featuring Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien.

Source: Business Journal