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What You Should Know:
– Pager Health, a digital health platform serving more than 26 million members, today announced a new strategic alignment with Protera Health, a virtual MSK solution founded and designed by national experts in orthopedic value-based care.
– With the new relationship, Protera’s virtual musculoskeletal services are planned to be available through Pager Health’s digital triage, care navigation and wellness platform, enabling more accurate, clinically guided support for MSK conditions, one of the costliest and commonly misdiagnosed categories in healthcare.
Pager Health and Protera Health Partner to Expand Access to Integrated, Value-Based MSK Care
Pager Health, a connected health platform serving over 26 million individuals across the United States and Latin America, has partnered with Protera Health to streamline musculoskeletal (MSK) care access. By combining Pager’s omnichannel care navigation capabilities with Protera’s virtual MSK program, the collaboration delivers evidence-based, cost-effective care while reducing systemic fragmentation.
Musculoskeletal conditions—such as chronic back pain, arthritis, joint injuries, and ligament disorders—affect over 50% of U.S. adults and generate approximately $420 billion annually in direct and indirect costs. These high expenditures are largely fueled by fragmented care delivery and limited access to conservative treatments. Key drivers of unnecessary MSK procedures include over-reliance on imaging without clinical correlation, premature surgeries in the absence of conservative care, patient expectations shaped by misinformation, and a lack of shared decision-making.
Pager Health’s platform integrates AI, omnichannel communication, and concierge services to help patients access the right care at the right time and place. Through this new partnership, the platform will now identify members with potential MSK concerns and guide them directly to Protera Health’s virtual MSK services. From there, members may be routed to in-home physical therapy, in-network clinics, or orthopedic consultations as needed—without requiring complex IT integrations.
Protera Health, a digital-first MSK provider, contracts with payers, employers, and health systems to offer telehealth-based access to a national network of orthopedic specialists. Services include virtual consultations, physical therapy, educational resources, and referral coordination—helping patients avoid unnecessary imaging or procedures while improving outcomes through conservative care pathways.
According to Rita Sharma, Chief Product Officer at Pager Health, “Integrating Protera Health into our platform reinforces Pager’s role as a central connector within the healthcare system. We’re expanding access to value-driven MSK care by offering members a seamless, digitally enabled experience through a curated ecosystem of high-impact partners.”
This collaboration exemplifies how technology-enabled care navigation and virtual-first clinical services can reduce cost, improve access, and enhance patient engagement at scale.
