Telehealth provider Avizia Inc.’s acquisition of rival Carena Inc. will give Avizia access to primary and urgent care providers, a market segment the company previously had not focused on. The acquisition will also further position Avizia’s telemedicine platform as a system-wide program for healthcare systems, the company says.

Acquiring Carena, which designs and operates virtual clinics for health systems, adds more than more than 120 hospitals that provide virtual care to more than 35 million consumers to Avizia’s customer base. Avizia’s telehealth platform is used by 75 health systems encompassing more than 1,300 hospitals. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Telehealth has been a niche offering for many healthcare providers,” says Avizia CEO Mike Baird. “Hospitals want to move telehealth technology beyond a niche service and offer it as a system-wide service. “The acquisition of Carena augments Avizia’s ability to meet this need.”

Hospital’s deploying telehealth on a niche or departmental basis use the technology on a single case basis, such as for treating stroke or behavioral health patients, Avizia says. Deploying the technology on a system-wide basis involves using the technology more broadly to treat patients.

New York-Presbyterian, which is an investor in Avizia, uses telehealth system-wide for high acuity situations such as remotely treating stroke and psychiatric patients, as well as for its OnDemand program, which includes such services as a second opinion from a specialist, video conferencing for emergency room patients and secure video conferencing with a doctor for non-emergency issues. New York-Presbyterian also uses telehealth technology to engage patients from their home for check-ups or follow-up visits and allowing doctors within the health system to collaborate on treating a patient.

“Consumers want to interact with their physician via an internet-enabled world,” says Baird. “Our goal is to provide a platform that connects health providers on an enterprise level.”

In addition to NewYork-Presbyterian, Avizia backers include HealthQuest and Northwell Health. Avizia has raised $20 million in funding since its founding in 2013. The company’s telehealth platform includes software, mobile apps, virtual care devices and a provider network.

As part of the acquisition, Ralph Derrickson, president and CEO of Carena, will become senior vice president of corporate development for Avizia. Avizia will remain headquartered in Reston, Virg., and Carena will remain in Seattle.

The combined company will partner with several healthcare organizations including Catholic Health Initiatives, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health, Dignity Health and the Medical University of South Carolina, Derrickson says.

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