$2 billion this year, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan. The Center for Connected Health is already pitching the SmartBeat service to self-insured companies and health plans, both of which would use it to improve the health of their employees or insured members and to reduce medical expenses from doctors’ visits and hospitalizations. EMC and Partners HealthCare have already signed on as paying customers.
To be clear, Partners has not yet pulled the trigger on launching and funding the health-monitoring business as a for-profit entity. But Kvedar says that his group has made the decision to pursue the spin-off and he plans to meet with his colleagues and business advisors in the coming weeks to work out the details of the launch. He and his staff are now working with Partners Innovation Fund, the venture arm of Partners HealthCare, to find investors and build an executive team to lead the planned startup. Partners Innovation Fund is also in the process of evaluating the business to decide whether to invest in it, Kvedar says. For his own part, Kvedar plans to keep his job at Partners after the spin-off of the businesses and continue to support the firm as an advisor and board member.
