TELUS acquires Remote Patient Monitoring solution;
Technology tracks real-time health data from home
Patients with chronic diseases monitor blood pressure, insulin, vital signs, fluid intake
Montreal, QC, January 15, 2009 – TELUS today announced the strategic acquisition of the rights to a Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solution developed by Quebec-based New IT Technologies Inc., a pioneer in the development of leading clinical solutions for the growing remote patient monitoring market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
RPM is a network-centric application that lets Canadians requiring homecare stay in touch with their healthcare providers with active monitoring of health data like blood pressure readings, insulin levels, vital signs medication and fluid intakes. Patient information can be communicated via phone, Internet and through wireless devices.
“Traditional healthcare systems are not adapted to manage the rapidly increasing number of patients suffering from chronic disease,” said Francois Cote, president, TELUS Health. “This results in a large percentage of patients being treated in hospitals rather than at home. There is no question that new care models need to be implemented, changing how, where, and by whom care is provided in order to have patients spend less time in hospitals. We see remote patient monitoring as a key enabler in this area and believe the adoption of this technology will accelerate over the next few years.”
According to the Health Council of Canada, 33 per cent of the population has at least one chronic disease. Those with multiple chronic diseases are the greatest users of hospitals and clinicians, consuming 80 per cent of the health care budget. The Health Council of Canada estimates that over 5.5 million Canadians have chronic diseases which lend themselves to daily monitoring. Utilizing an RPM, these patients can reduce the cost per day to the healthcare system from more than $4,000 for acute care to between $30 and $50 for self-care.
“The pressures on the health system are evolving. Today, they are caused by a higher demand from patients with chronic disease,” explains Dr. Claude Mercier, Medical Director at the Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de la Gaspésie et des Îles de la Madeleine. “The treatment of these patients requires a team of care professionals, as well as the direct participation of the patients themselves. This technology allows caring for patients at home, even if they are based in a distant location. Remote Patient Monitoring is an integral part of the therapeutic arsenal needed to properly support them.”
TELUS’ RPM application is positioned to become a source of data for both the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Personal Health Record (PHR). Patients will be able to access their PHR and update it, ensuring they have the most up-to-date record of their current health status. The information sent to the clinician can immediately be incorporated into the patient’s EHR, providing the extended health team with a complete view of the patient’s status.
TELUS Health Solutions, backed by Emergis, represents a unique set of technology, expertise and resources to help transform how information is used in the healthcare industry.
TELUS Health has years of expertise in successfully implementing healthcare applications and information communication technology processes through industry leading solutions and consulting services to customers in Canada and around the world. It is backed by more than 1,500 TELUS Health Solutions team members including healthcare professionals.
TELUS Health was named the 2008 Health Company of the Year by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).
For more information, please visit telushealth.com.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.5 billion of annual revenue and 11.5 million customer connections including 6 million wireless subscribers, 4.3 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $113 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 2.1 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead our local philanthropic initiatives. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Allison Vale
TELUS Media Relations
416 629-6425
Allison.Vale@telus.com