athenahealth and Smile Foundation Partnership Reaches Key Milestone

athenahealth, Inc., a leading provider of network-enabled software and services for medical groups and health systems nationwide, and Smile Foundation today announced that through their partnership in the Smile on Wheels programme, more than 10,000 patients received care in its first six months of operation. athenahealth and Smile Foundation launched their mobile medical unit in August 2021 to strengthen public health infrastructure and provide primary healthcare to Chennai residents.

Smile on Wheels is a national-level mobile healthcare programme focused on serving underprivileged children and women. Through the programme, athenahealth is providing financial support for a Smile on Wheels mobile medical unit, which offers primary healthcare services in an area of Chennai with approximately 17,600 households and 88,000 residents.

"We are proud of the significant impact that this partnership is already making by providing so many residents with access to necessary healthcare," said Vikram Singh Verma, Executive Director, Smile Foundation. "We look forward to continuing to work with athenahealth to provide primary healthcare services to the Chennai community," he added. 

“athenahealth is proud to partner with Smile Foundation and support the Smile on Wheels programme, which is providing vital care to some of the most vulnerable communities in India,” said Sasidharan Chinnaraj, Executive Director of Engineering at athenahealth India. “Through this programme, we are already making a significant impact in Chennai, and we look forward to continuing to serve these communities with the care they need and deserve,” he added.

The Smile on Wheels programme sends well-equipped medical mobile units, along with specialized doctors, nurses, medical staff, and medicine, to villages and underserved communities to provide crucial access to healthcare services. The objective of the programme is to ensure improved healthcare services reach the doorsteps of people residing in unserved or underserved areas. Smile on Wheels provides free healthcare services to more than 1.5 million children and families every year across India.