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NFL, eClinicalWorks Team Up On Electronic Health Records

The NFL is teaming up with Westborough medical technology company eClinicalWorks to improve the way it monitors players' health and safety.

The deal with eClinicalWorks will last 10 years and is worth as much as $10 million.

The company will create an online database of players' health records which will help with treatment. It will also help researchers studying long-term health issues such as concussions and dementia.

"Relationships like ones we've done with the NFL should obviously help us further grow and add more to the jobs and growth in Westborough and across the country," said eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Kumar Navani.

The NFL has faced controversy in recent years over head injuries suffered by players and their aftereffects, including dementia and depression.

Last week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke at Harvard University's School of Public Health, saying the NFL was becoming more safety conscious, but that change would take time.

“We now see fewer dangerous hits to the head and noticeable changes in the way the game is being played,” he said.

The NFL is currently being sued by more than 3,000 of its former players who say they’re suffering from, or fear they will soon suffer from, brain damage associated with multiple concussions.

“Concussions are hardly an issue limited to football or the NFL,” Goodell said. “Concussions affect more than 30 million athletes in the United States and more than 350 million athletes around the world.”

This program aired on November 19, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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