Arrhythmia Surveillance Utilized HeartCheck(TM) Device and SMART Monitoring ECG Service Technologies
TORONTO, ONTARIO - CardioComm Solutions, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:EKG) ("CardioComm Solutions" or the "Company") today announced that it is working within a pilot that uses HeartCheck(TM) ECG testing technology to support arrhythmia screening and surveillance with long-term care facilities. The pilot was coordinated by Toronto-based IN INITIATIVE INC. and conducted with Responsive Management Inc. ("RMI"), an organization that owns and operates nine long-term care homes and three retirement residences in Ontario. The program will utilize the HeartCheck(TM) ECG monitor and SMART Monitoring ECG service technologies enabled through GEMSTM Home and focuses on the early detection of atrial fibrillation ("AF"). The arrhythmia surveillance program system was implemented as part of a larger project funded by an education grant provided by Boehringer Ingleheim (Canada) Inc.
Residents of long-term care facilities are at a higher risk for developing arrhythmias due to their age or co-morbid conditions, or both. Central to a program of arrhythmia surveillance is the ability to easily and accurately capture an ECG at the time a resident is exhibiting symptoms. The resident's provider performs the ECG recording using the HeartCheck(TM) ECG monitor and then uploads the recording to the CardioComm Solutions SMART Monitoring ECG service via GEMSTM Home from a workstation at a designated nursing station. Through the cloud-based SMART Monitoring service, ECGs are interpreted by Canadian physicians who are specifically assigned to the RMI ECG records. Once interpreted, ECG reports are then automatically returned to the long-term care facility, using HIPPA compliant data encryption technologies, where the reports are reviewed by the physician in charge through GEMSTM Home.
The goal of the arrhythmia surveillance program is to assist long-term care facilities with the early detection of life threatening arrhythmias, especially AF, and improve the care of the residents. "AF related strokes in the elderly are more disabling and more likely to be fatal. At RMI, we are focused on introducing best practice initiatives that improve the well-being of our residents through a resident-centric approach in everything we do," said Derrick Hoare, Vice President Operations, Responsive Management Inc. "We did not realize how much of a problem AF is in our homes but now have a framework to detect and address the issue. Using a multi-disciplinary team of professionals and the CardioComm Solutions technologies, a care protocol has been implemented that addresses early AF detection and initiation of optimal therapy."
"We are excited to be part of this initiative designed to develop a standardized approach to prevent strokes in our residents. The pilot project addresses an unmet need and we expect that initial results will be presented soon," said Susan Veenstra, Director of Nursing and Wellness at Responsive Management Inc.
"RMI has shown leadership in the adoption of a new technology within the daily medical management of their residents. The RMI ECG surveillance program incorporates best practice guidelines to support ongoing ECG testing for all residents and the training of staff to recognize and respond appropriately to signs of AF with the goal of preventing the occurrence of strokes through early AF detection. The program will reduce unnecessary and costly transfers to the ER which are stressful to the resident and may result in the arrhythmia not being found given the episodic nature of AF," said Etienne Grima, CEO of CardioComm Solutions. "We have been piloting the HeartCheckTM devices since August 2013 and are now fully implemented in three of the RMI locations. A major advance was the GEMSTM Home 1.2 release that allows the HeartCheck(TM) ECG handheld monitor to interface with the SMART Monitoring ECG service. We look forward to the successful roll out of the solution in all of the RMI Ontario locations over the next few months and to contributing to their mission of maintaining the best level of care possible for their residents."
"There are more than 630 long-term care facilities in Ontario alone, according to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC)," noted Simi Grosman, a member of the Company's Board of Directors. "Replicating these numbers across the country speaks to a significant and rapidly expanding market for CardioComm Solutions' HeartCheck(TM) ECG monitor and SMART Monitoring ECG service technologies. The potential impact that we can make on the early detection of arrhythmias and AF cannot be overstated."
More information regarding the HeartCheckTM products and SMART Monitoring solutions is available at the Company's web site www.theheartcheck.com.
About CardioComm Solutions
CardioComm Solutions' patented and proprietary technology is used in products for recording, viewing, analyzing and storing electrocardiograms (ECGs) for diagnosis and management of cardiac patients. Products are sold worldwide through a combination of an external distribution network and a North American-based sales team. The Company has earned the ISO 13485 certification, is HPB approved, HIPAA compliant, and has received FDA market clearance for its software devices. CardioComm Solutions is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with offices in Victoria, B.C.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Etienne Grima, Chief Executive Officer
1-877-977-9425
Forward-looking statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements and forward looking information with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of CardioComm Solutions and certain of the plans and objectives of CardioComm Solutions with respect to these items. Such statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information.
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