Olympus Corporation (Olympus – Director, Representative Executive Officer, President and CEO: Yasuo Takeuchi)  announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Quest Photonic Devices B.V. for up to EUR50 million including milestone payments to strengthen its surgical endoscopy capabilities.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Quest offers advanced fluorescence imaging systems (FIS) for the medical field, enabling more surgical endoscopy capabilities, compared to conventional imaging technologies.

Fluorescence imaging refers to special light imaging technologies that utilize the properties of fluorescent dyes directed to specific anatomical structures. By using targeted dyes, in combination with specific light wavelengths, tissues or lesions that are nearly invisible under normal white light become visible. Olympus’ existing laparoscopic imaging system, VISERA ELITE II, is already equipped with fluorescence imaging technology. VISERA ELITE II uses near-infrared light to identify blood vessels or lymph nodes under the surface tissues, aiming to assist surgeons in performing safer procedures with lower complication risks. The Quest technology acquired is intended to expand opportunities for Olympus in this field.

Making the Invisible Visible

Quest offers innovative technologies for multi-spectral imaging and imaging systems for medical applications, ranging from fluorescence imaging to photodynamic therapy. The acquisition strengthens Olympus’ position as a world leader in medical imaging solutions, and delivers innovative capabilities (including 3D and 4K imaging) to surgeons, to “make the invisible visible.”

Quest’s lead product line is the Quest Spectrum Fluorescence Imaging System, which enables fluorescence-guided surgery for open and minimally invasive procedures. Kanichi Matsumoto, global head of Surgical Endoscopy at Olympus, said: “We are delighted to incorporate Quest’s advanced FIS capabilities into our comprehensive medical imaging portfolio. The combination of the Quest Spectrum product line’s leading FIS technologies with Olympus’ existing laparoscopic imaging system VISERA ELITE II will enable Olympus to offer surgeons a wide range of high quality fluorescence imaging solutions.”

New Applications and Market Growth

The global market for FIS devices is expected to grow at a compounding annual rate of more than 12%, from around US$310 million in 2018 to over US$827 million in 2027*. Increasing demand for minimally invasive procedures and reconstructive surgery is helping to drive FIS growth worldwide. Furthermore, application of the FIS technology is expected to expand over the coming years, as additional fluorescent dyes are paired with targeted antibodies. Among other applications, molecular imaging will allow healthcare professionals to visualize cancerous lesions in vivo and perform cancer surgery in unprecedented ways, potentially lowering recurrence rates.

Quest also works with biotechnology companies that are developing next-generation molecular imaging dyes. These innovative dyes may enable Quest’s technology to advance diagnostic opportunities in fluorescence-guided cancer surgery.

*Source: Transparency Market Research; Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging System Market Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2019-2027.

About Quest

Quest Photonic Devices B.V. is a multispectral imaging leader and focuses on the medical markets of fluorescence image-guided surgery and cancer-targeted probes. Quest’s next generation Spectrum Florescence Imaging System has the ability to “see through tissue” with enhanced sensitivity, capable of accessing otherwise inaccessible information to aid the surgeon in improving clinical outcomes.

About Olympus’ Medical business

As a leading medical technology company, Olympus’ Medical business uses innovative capabilities in medical technology, therapeutic intervention, and precision manufacturing to help healthcare professionals deliver diagnostic, therapeutic, and minimally invasive procedures to improve clinical outcomes, reduce overall costs, and enhance the quality of life for patients and their safety. Olympus’ Medical portfolio includes endoscopes, laparoscopes, and video imaging systems, as well as surgical energy devices, system integration solutions, medical services, and a wide range of endotherapy instruments for endoscopic and therapeutic applications.

Holistic health refers to the term used to define a set of healing practices that focus on taking care of the whole integrated being—mind, body, and soul. While holistic healing falls outside the traditional pharmaceutical treatments, it has been used for ages in different cultures. From massage therapies to healing with crystals or herbs, several potential healing principles can help you achieve holistic health.

In this article, we’ll discuss the top ten principles of holistic health:

1. Crystal Healing

Crystal healing is an alternate therapy that uses the possible energetic power of crystals or stones to heal your mind, body, and soul. As crystals take millions of years to form by continually repeating their chemical structures, they purportedly hold healing energies.

Crystal healing is based on the belief that we’re all made of energy, and that when the flow of energy in your body is blocked or imbalanced, it can lead to disease. However, with the help of crystals, you may be able to unblock energy and direct it to where it’s needed most to support holistic healing.

There are several types of crystals used for healing. The potential effect of the crystal depends on the kinds of minerals it’s made from and the condition in which it is formed. The type of crystals used and their positioning depends on the imbalance that needs to be corrected. While clear quartz is ideal for improving clarity and improving your energetic balance, rose quartz is known as the love stone and helps encourage self-love.

Some of the popular crystals include amethyst, that aid intuition and meditation, citrine, which is popularly known as the stone of success and increases personal power, and lepidolite, which is considered as a stone of transition. This post explains more about the healing properties of lepidolite.

2. Ayurveda

Ayurveda is an ancient healing practice from India. The term Ayurveda means ‘science of life.’ Ayurveda stemmed from the Vedic culture and was taught through oral tradition by masters to their disciples.

The critical principle of Ayurveda is prevention—after all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It focuses on the maintenance of health by creating a holistic balance in your life. Ayurveda identifies three basic functional principles, or doshas, that constitute everyone and everything.

The three doshas are vata, pitta, and kapha: vata is considered the energy for movement; pitta, the energy for digestion; and kapha, the energy for lubrication and structure. Everyone has all three of these qualities, but typically one functional principle is predominant. Deficiency or imbalance of the doshas can lead to improper functioning of the body at the cellular level, thus leading to an increase in toxins and disease.

According to Ayurvedic medicine, the body, mind, and soul work together to maintain balance and good health. Thus, to keep your body, mind, and soul, it’s essential to maintain a balance of the three doshas.

Thus, Ayurveda helps you create a balance of the body, mind, and consciousness according to your constitution. Based on your unique constitution, you can make lifestyle and dietary changes to bring about healing and maintain good health.

3. Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine uses mind and body practices like tai chi, acupressure, and Chinese herbal medicines to treat diseases. Traditional Chinese medicinal treatment is based on diagnosing the imbalance in the body.

Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the principle that all organs mutually support each other. Thus, for the body to be healthy, all your body’s organs must be in balance. Therefore, it’s essential to harmonize your yin and yang, or the complementary energies that affect all life, to achieve this balance.

Another concept found in traditional Chinese medicine is that of vital energy, or qi. It’s believed that qi is the vital force that runs throughout the body, and when it’s blocked, weakened, or in excess, physical health problems occur. Thus, restoring qi’s flow is essential to create a balance between yin and yang, thereby achieving holistic well-being.

4. Reiki

Reiki is an alternative holistic healing therapy that’s also known as energy healing. Energy healing has been used for centuries, and it involves working with the universal energy or the energy fields around the body. During a reiki session, the practitioner transfers healing energy from their palms to the patient.

Reiki is thought to be effective in reducing pain and healing emotional states. Reiki practitioners believe that physical and emotional pain can lead to blocked energy in the body. This manifests as illness or disease. Reiki is said to aid the natural healing process of the body and help develop a sense of emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

5. Yoga

Yoga is a mind and body practice that originated in India and is rooted in ancient Vedic philosophy. There are several yoga styles, but most of them combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and relaxation techniques. Yoga has become popular due to its ability to help you control your mind and body and enhance your overall well-being.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the foremost treatise on yoga and explains how one can control their mind, emotions and grow spiritually by practicing yoga. While yogic postures today are often used to achieve physical fitness, it wasn’t considered the sages’ primary goal. Yoga was regarded as a means to attain physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being to move towards their goal of self-realization.

6. Meditation

Meditation is an ancient practice that has been used by sages for centuries to achieve mental clarity and a peaceful mind. While meditating, you may use mindfulness techniques or focus on a particular object, thought, or activity to improve attention and increase your sense of awareness.

Meditation has been practiced in several religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism as a means to attain self-realization. Though meditation has spiritual roots, its applications have been useful in non-spiritual contexts like health and business.  To aid your meditation, consider using intention bands, stones or incense sticks, which you can find at vendors like tinyrituals.co.

Meditation can help you significantly reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. It is known to calm the mind and enables you to enhance your self-concept and your overall well-being.

7. Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being. This piractice uses aromatic essential oils to treat your body, mind, and soul. Aromatherapy works through the sense of smell and the absorption of essential oils through the skin.

Aromatherapy is believed to manage pain, improving sleep quality, treat headaches and migraines, fight bacteria, improve digestion, and boost your immune system.

8. Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a holistic healing practice found in traditional Chinese medicine that is primarily used to relieve pain and sometimes even treat certain health conditions. According to traditional Chinese medicine, there are several energy pathways in the body, and when energy blocks occur in these pathways, it can lead to disease.

Acupuncture is thought to release the flow of the body’s vital energy by stimulating these energy pathways. In acupuncture, thin needles are placed at specific points on the body to help release stagnated energy. Acupuncture is said to be useful for back pains, acute headaches, fibromyalgia, and arthritis pain.

9. Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is a holistic healing practice that clears the lymphatic system and releases toxins from the body. Massage therapy helps your body boost its natural recovery process.

Massage therapies like deep tissue massage are effective for pain relief and help ease tight areas like a stiff neck or a sore back. If you’re looking for a relaxing massage, consider Swedish massage. Swedish massage helps improve circulation and reduce muscular tension, thereby enhancing a sense of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

10. Bach Flower Remedy

Bach flower remedy is an alternative therapy that’s used to heal emotional problems and pain. Bach flower medicine is made from the extract of wildflowers with alleged healing properties.

Edward Bach created the Bach Flower Remedies in the early 1900s. Bach believed that healing the emotions can lead to physical healing, and as such Bach’s flower remedies don’t work on physical symptoms but instead on feelings.

Bach flower remedy consists of 38 remedies, and each remedy addresses a specific negative emotion. These emotions are grouped into seven broad categories: uncertainty, fear, loneliness, sadness, and despair, cares for others at their own expense, lack of interest, oversensitivity.

To use Bach flower remedy, choose a flower based on the root of your emotional issue. Bach remedies come in liquids in dropper bottles. Therefore, you can drop the remedy on your tongue or mix it in water and drink.

Bach therapy purportedly relieves emotional trauma and pain, anxiety, depression, and emotional distress.

Conclusion

Holistic health has been around for centuries and is widespread across many cultures today. Most holistic healing practices are based on the belief that, to treat ailments, all the aspects of the being should be considered. Thus, instead of focusing just on physical symptoms, holistic healing takes into account your mental and spiritual being as well.

As holistic health practices aim to heal the mind, body, and spirit, they’re are ideal for treating health conditions without causing any side effects. However, be sure to consult with your primary physician to make these practices fit well with your existing regimen, especially if you take any medications and are interested in consuming any herbal remedies that may interact with your medication.

When it comes to health care institutes, it is always required that every health care facility is well looked after in order to be a clean, healthy medical, and working environment. A healthcare facility is known as a place in which services and treatments are provided to those people who are in need of medical attention, thus in order to provide those in need with the best possible care, it is vital that a healthcare facility is efficiently run and well maintained. In order to be able to deliver essential medical services to patients, an efficient and effective system needs to be implemented and made use of to ensure that these services are delivered in a timely manner. This is why good facility management that is simple yet effective is highly required within healthcare facilities. 

Facility Management 

The essence of facility management is to establish and maintain prime efficiency, effectiveness, and functionality within a facility in order to ensure that a facility operates at its optimum level. Facilities in which facility management is required range from infrastructure, land grounds as well as institutional facilities. The notion of facility management includes the efficient management and maintenance of facilities, the effective security of facilities as well as the efficient services required by a facility. Vital aspects of a well-run facility, such as asset tracking, equipment maintenance management, and the provision of essential resources encompass what great facility management entails. 

Benefits of Facility Management Within The Healthcare Industry 

Because healthcare facilities are required to always operate at an optimal level and as efficiently as possible to deliver essential services, it is imperative that good and efficient facilities management is made use of. Facility management within healthcare ensures that there is the effective delivery of support and services to save the lives of those in need. Efficient facility management does not only assist with the efficient operation of healthcare facilities, but it also assists a great deal with complete compliance pertaining to health codes and policies, as well as building requirements and regulations. Daily medical operations, procedures, and protocol in case of emergencies, as well as effective training of all staff members, can be conducted and maintained with the help of good facilities management. Concise ward rounds schedules, customer care, cost and time efficiency, and infection control are but a few of the many benefits of the use of facility management within the healthcare industry. 

Simplifying Facility Management Within The Healthcare Industry 

Good facility management, especially within a healthcare facility, should not be overcomplicated as that has the potential to hamper the functionality of a facility. This is why simple yet effective facility management software should be used within healthcare facilities to automate the process of maintenance, services, and repairs to ensure the optimization of services rendered. With facility management software, the process of facility management is simplified as all vital information is stored and can be easily accessed on a single cloud-based platform. Facility management software in general is created to help organizations save both time and money as it efficiently manages buildings, equipment, assets, and resources without the risk of human error. This means that, in the case of healthcare facilities, both time and money costs are reduced as all essential maintenance and management services are well taken care of, meaning that all doctors, nurses, and medical staffs are able to focus solely on the needs of their patients without having to worry about issues concerning the facility that they work in. It is the preventative and proactive nature of facility management software that is essential to the healthcare industry as it ensures the safety of all those present within the facility. 

CloudApper Facilities Application 

The Facilities application has been designed to simplify the process of maintenance, asset management, and various facility operations. The application poses as a great tool to all industries, especially the healthcare industry, as it assists its users in cutting down on time wasted on maintenance and repair issues, and allows its users to easily access important information, emergency procedures, and all facility details. This allows all staff to focus solely on their work-related tasks. From a single platform, users are able to comply with all health and safety regulations, access vital information, as well as digitize all facility regulations in order to reduce the potential of human error. Being able to work on the go when in the medical field is most important, thus having a single platform where all data is stored at hand contributes significantly to the efficiency of healthcare industries.

Injuries are tough for everyone, but for seniors especially, recovery can be more challenging. Most of the patients tend to tend for themselves and just settled on not regaining their old life before their injury. What patients and their families don’t know is there are helpful ways you can do to recover fully and get back on track. Injury rehabilitation can help senior citizens to recuperate physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Read on for the four major benefits of injury rehabilitation for the elderly.

Lessens Pain and Discomfort

Recovering from injury means hours and days of pain and discomfort. This type of pain hinders you from doing anything and makes your life uncomfortable. Undergoing injury rehabilitation will help to ensure that the frequentness and intensity of muscle spasms will be lessened. Moreover, being in rehabilitation will make sure the healing process of lesions and soft tissue injuries are faster. They will focus on exercises in therapy that not only reduce inflammation and pain but also prevents deformities and limb problems.

The lack of support can make recovery slower. However, being under injury rehabilitation will guarantee that there is 24-hour professional care for them that will help them administer medications and monitor them from any suffering that they will experience.

Improve Life and Well-Being

The goal of injury rehabilitation is not only to bring back physical health but also to restore and improve the patient’s life and well-being. Many Americans across the country who got injured have their whole life affected and well-being impaired. The Senior Rehabilitation Center in Media, PA | Riddle Village mentioned that a rehabilitation program will ensure that the patient will still live their best life. A strong rehab program will get them back on their feet and live their life to the fullest.

Restore Function and Mobility

When the elderly had an accident and are injured, it is expected that they will not function as before, and their mobility is hugely affected. It is recommended that they should be transferred to a facility that offers injury rehabilitation. This is to ensure that their flexibility, balance, strength, and coordination are increased so their function and mobility will be restored.

They will focus on strengthening your muscles to lessen the risk of falls or accidents in injury rehabilitation centers. Also, they will help you improve endurance and balance, and lastly, help you get back full-range of motion in the joints and muscles.

Enhances Self-Confidence and Independence

By undergoing rehabilitation, the elderly can be more independent and do things more confidently on their own. Healing in a controlled and monitored space will guarantee that they can return to their pre-injury state. Injury and recovery on their own can be isolating, and overcoming everything by themselves can deteriorate their mental and emotional state. A medical care professional is trained to give emotional support to make the patient feel more self-assured about their healing and recovery process.

Injury rehabilitation is an important tool to help elderlies from pain and suffering, regain their maximum functional potential, and continue to live their life to the fullest. With the help of proper medical care, you can devote adequate time and effort to ensure that your loved one will recover well.

Ashfield Advisory, part of UDG Healthcare plc, announced the acquisition of PHMR Limited, a Market Access Consultancy and specialist in Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR).

Within Ashfield Advisory, PHMR will join forces with Putnam Associates, who specialise in strategy consulting exclusively for the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. This will strengthen Putnam’s global value, pricing and access practice area by adding complementary HEOR and research science expertise, as well as expanding the company’s reach in Europe and Japan.

As part of Putnam, PHMR will join Vynamic, STEM Healthcare and SmartAnalyst under the Ashfield Advisory umbrella.

Colin Stanley, Global President of Ashfield Advisory said: “I’m thrilled to announce that PHMR is joining Putnam Associates and the Ashfield Advisory business unit. The PHMR team brings a wealth of experience and trusted expertise that makes them the perfect fit to become a part of both Putnam Associates and our wider Ashfield Advisory offering.

“I look forward to seeing the value both PHMR and Ashfield Advisory’s existing clients will gain from this acquisition, as it significantly strengthens and expands our existing offering. The additional support we can provide to our clients in Europe and Japan makes this a really exciting time for our business as we continue to experience demand in these major markets.”

Founded in 2008, PHMR is headquartered in London with offices in Newcastle, UK and Westport, Ireland. PHMR employs 40 multidisciplinary, highly-qualified team members of health economists and research scientists.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mark Ratcliffe, Founder of PHMR added: “This acquisition brings great opportunities to both our current and future clients, as we’ll be able to offer the same exceptional service, with the added value of being connected to the Ashfield Advisory ecosystem, as and when our clients need additional support.

“I am extremely proud of the team at PHMR and what we have achieved together. I am very grateful for all their hard work, and I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together as part of the Ashfield Advisory team.”

About Ashfield
Ashfield, part of UDG Healthcare plc, is an integrated healthcare services partner, offering a breadth of services across strategic consulting, benchmarking, commercialisation, customer engagement, events, marketing and communications.

Ashfield comprises of three clearly defined, integrated business units: Ashfield Advisory, Ashfield Engage and Ashfield Health. Together, the Ashfield team uses imagination, strategy, and action to redefine and deepen client partnerships, reimagine health and improve lives.

Ashfield has carefully curated its business through the acquisition of 22 companies and is committed to offering streamlined services to best meet its clients’ needs. With a presence in 50 countries, over 7,000 employees strive to provide best-in-class service for more than 300 clients, including the top 30 global pharmaceutical companies.

About Ashfield Advisory
Ashfield Advisory, part of UDG Healthcare plc, is an ecosystem of connected advisory and consulting businesses including Vynamic, Putnam Associates, STEM Healthcare and SmartAnalyst. All four businesses have specific areas of expertise and are focused on market access and shaping the healthcare industry by hiring top talent, building deep industry expertise, cultivating a boutique approach to client partnerships, and capitalising on the team’s expansive research and data insights.

Under the Ashfield umbrella, Ashfield Advisory sits alongside Ashfield Engage and Ashfield Health.

Stance Healthcare, a furniture designer and manufacturer specializing in general healthcare and Behavioral Health settings, announces the opening of a new showroom and design collaborative in Uptown Charlotte, N.C. The 6,000 square-foot space featuring the 2019 Nightingale GOLD Award-winning company’s Behavioral Health and general healthcare products is a new approach to the traditional furniture showroom, as it is designed to also be a working space where designers, healthcare facility decision-makers, and Behavioral Health thought leaders meet, learn, and collaborate.

Conveniently located just 15 minutes from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the showroom solidifies Stance Healthcare’s presence as an industry leader in the U.S., where the company has experienced remarkable growth through partnerships with Behavioral Health and general healthcare facilities in the past decade. Known for their highly durable and functional products that also offer a comforting, warm aesthetic, the company is a leading furniture provider for healthcare integrated delivery networks (IDNs), primary care facilities, and Behavioral Health treatment centers of all sizes across the country, including several facilities furnished in North Carolina.

“Our furniture serves a higher purpose of aiming to improve the experience for healthcare patients, visitors, and caregivers,” said Suzanne Fawley, Stance Healthcare’s Behavioral Health designer. “This design collaborative is a natural extension of Stance Healthcare’s mission to create more healing environments through the spaces we furnish. We want anyone who visits the space to leave empowered with not only product knowledge about Stance Healthcare’s lines, but also the insights and best practices that will continue to transform the healthcare experience – from the waiting area to patient rooms – across the country.”

Stance Healthcare envisions the space, which is currently open by appointment only for safety reasons, to be utilized post-COVID 19 and in the long-term as a highly collaborative “open door” gathering place for healthcare industry decision makers and influencers. The first-of-its-kind showroom will offer designers, healthcare facility planners, and Behavioral Health and wellness experts a space to collaborate on projects in progress; receive education – including Continuing Education Unit (CEU) accredited courses – on the latest industry best practices; and obtain one-on-one counsel from in-house experts regarding individual Behavioral Health and other healthcare spaces in progress. Following the eventual loosening of COVID-19 capacity restrictions, the Stance Healthcare team also has plans to host a speaker series in the space that rotates healthcare-related subject matter. Future topics for the speaker series, tentatively slated to launch in mid-2021, will include mental health, wellness, and Behavioral Health trends and insights, among others.

“At Stance Healthcare, we are always thinking one step ahead – from the feel and function of each design down to the highly-cleanable fabric selections we offer,” said Carl Kennedy, Stance Healthcare’s president. “Every inch of product we produce is intentional, and built to ensure safety, comfort, and durability for end users. The new showroom is exciting because it offers a dedicated space for U.S. designers, healthcare facility decision-makers, and Behavioral Health leaders to experience in person what sets Stance Healthcare apart from the current healthcare furniture status-quo – not only our products, but our approach.”

The showroom opens on the heels of back-to-back award winning seasons that preceded 2020, a year marked by challenge and innovation for the family-owned company. Notably, two months into the global onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stance Healthcare announced a new fabric partnership in May 2020 that brought coronavirus-fighting fabrics to North America. This announcement came just 9 months after winning Healthcare Design’s Nightingale GOLD Award for the Frontier line, a bedroom collection for Behavioral Health settings, just two years after taking home the same honor for Stance Healthcare’s Resilia drum table collection.

Offering the industry’s largest selection of Behavioral Health-specified furniture, the company’s design emphasis on durability with a comforting aesthetic also translates to other types of spaces and facilities. Stance Healthcare’s rotationally-molded products feature rounded corners and are manufactured with naturally pick-proof materials for patients experiencing Behavioral Health treatment. Meanwhile, their solid surface side tables and metal chairs provide highly cleanable and comfortable options for a waiting room and other general areas of a healthcare facility.

“With a variety of care modules evolving for Behavioral Health and other healthcare settings, yesterday’s one-size-fits-all approach to interior design no longer works. The various areas of the facility must be treated independently,” said Fawley.

“Through the showroom, we are truly seeking to empower designers and other decision-makers to select the best possible products for the spaces they’re specifying. Our goal is to listen and guide visitors to leave equipped with the next steps needed to complete their project – even if that includes pointing them to additional resources outside of Stance Healthcare’s collections.”

Stance Healthcare’s Behavioral Health products support the evolving demand for increased Mental & Behavioral Health treatment facilities across the U.S. To learn more about these and the company’s other innovative product lines that support a variety of healthcare environments, including seating, tables, and case goods. The new showroom is located at 712 Morris St, Charlotte, N.C., 28202.

About Stance Healthcare

Founded in 2006, Stance Healthcare manufactures furniture for healing environments, with a particular focus on hospitals and behavioral health facilities. Stance Healthcare has a reputation for providing high-quality products that meet the ever-evolving demands in the areas of design, comfort, safety, durability, renewability, infection control and environmental sustainability. With a strong understanding of patient-centered design, Stance Healthcare is committed to providing innovative furniture solutions that support the healing process. Please visit stancehealthcare.com for the latest news and in-depth information on Stance Healthcare.

Health First Health Plans has announced it has signed an administrative services agreement with a subsidiary of Oscar Health. Under the agreement, Oscar will provide Health First Health Plans’ Medicare Advantage and Individual customers with access to Oscar’s member engagement platform and other provider and broker services built on its full-stack technology platform. The Health First Health Plans division will be responsible for care management, network performance management, physician credentialing and other services.

“Our agreement with Oscar will give our members access to the same high-quality medical care they know and trust, plus a new technology platform that will make using the healthcare system even easier for them,” said Steve Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Health First. “We are thrilled that our members will now have the ability to use the Oscar technology, including 24/7 virtual urgent care and personalized Care Teams. By ensuring they have access to these convenient, no additional cost features, we can offer our members even more affordable care through our health plans.”

“This agreement with Health First Health Plans furthers Oscar’s commitment to the Central Florida region and the communities we serve in the area,” said Mario Schlosser, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Our hope is that Oscar’s technology platform will help the Health First Health Plans members get the most out of the plan they have come to know and love by making great care cost less.”

Most services provided under the agreement will be available to eligible Health First Health Plan members beginning January 1, 2022.

About Health First:

Founded in 1995, Health First is Brevard County’s not-for-profit, community healthcare system. The fully integrated delivery network (IDN) includes health insurance plans, hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and outpatient and wellness services. As a locally owned, not-for-profit organization, Health First is committed to investing in our community. Since 2012, Health First provided more than $1 billion in community support. To learn more about Health First and how we’re giving back to our community.

About Oscar Health:

Oscar Health is the first health insurance company built around a full stack technology platform and a relentless focus on serving its members. The Oscar Health mission is to make a healthier life accessible and affordable for all. Oscar Health has been challenging the health care system’s status quo since its founding in 2012. The company’s member-first philosophy and innovative approach to care has earned it the trust of more than 420,000 Americans across 291 counties. Oscar Health offers Individual & Family, Small Group and Medicare Advantage plans. Their members benefit from 24/7 telemedicine visits at no additional cost, integrated direct scheduling with providers through their innovative app, a network of first-rate physicians and hospitals, as well as a personalized Care Team that supports members every step of the way, from finding a doctor to navigating costs. Oscar Health creates experiences that reflect the kind of health care company we would want for ourselves—one that behaves like a doctor in the family, helping us navigate the health care system in our moments of greatest need.