HealthStream Inc., which provides Internet-based learning and research services for health care companies, is closing its Laurel office and laying off 134 people who work there.

HealthStream's Maryland Patient Interview Center housed a patient experience phone research team that is being consolidated with other patient experience research operations in Tennessee, where the company is based.

The move comes amid a shift in how patient surveys are conducted, from phone calls to text and email messages, CEO Robert A. Frist Jr. said in a statement announcing the consolidation.

"The trend for how today's patients want to provide feedback is through email and text messaging and our online surveys are particularly well suited for that," Frist said. "The transition to these surveys, along with the consolidation to a single interview center, helps the company reduce inefficiencies inherent in maintaining multiple call centers."

Another 40 employees who comprise a patient experience professional services group will movey from Laurel to a new office at 9861 Broken Land Parkway in Columbia in July.

The layoffs are expected to occur between April 30 and June 30, according to a notice filed with the state.

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