Atlantic Health Sciences and AnyWare Group Empower Patients to Take Control of Their Health
Landmark Technology Innovation Will Aid Patients with Chronic Disease
SAINT JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA — April 19, 2006 — Canada’s first technology solution for empowering patients with chronic diseases to manage their illness from home, workplace or travel is in the process of development by Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation (AHSC) and AnyWare Group (AWG), a provider of customer-driven access solutions. Chronic disease management, using AWG’s Role Oriented Access Management (ROAM), enables patients to securely access select medical files and disease education resources via an Internet connection to update their health status, while core hospital teams analyze this information.
Dr. John Dornan, an endocrinologist who specializes in diabetes and who is conducting research on this disease, believes chronic disease management is an approach to health care that helps maintain independence and health through prevention and management of chronic conditions.
“A patient's ability to accommodate lifestyle changes and access resources are factors that influence successful management of an ongoing illness. This disease management system provides a unique initiative to save patients valuable time by allowing them to become educated and monitor their disease at their convenience” said Dr. Dornan. Newly diagnosed diabetes patients will be able to access the disease management system anytime, anywhere and enter crucial details such as their blood sugar levels, blood pressure and heart rate, to their medical files rather than visiting diabetes clinics with long wait times. Allied health specialists will monitor each patient’s ongoing status and when imminent problems are identified, an alert is sent to the patient’s physician immediately.
“Prior to this innovative approach, high-risk patients newly diagnosed with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, had to invest significant time making regular visits to clinics or hospitals for health monitoring and disease education, which could limit their work and personal opportunities,“ states Derrick Jardine, Chief Information Officer, AHSC.
ROAM supports Chronic Disease Management systems by facilitating the decline of wait lists and alleviating pressure on congested health care facilities. By eliminating overcrowded clinics, patient care is enhanced and wait times are reduced.
"To date, we have implemented ROAM in some 63 Canadian and American Hospitals," says Gerry Verner, Chief Executive Officer, AWG. "And there is a growing interest as patients seek solutions to effectively advocate for and manage their own health."
Physicians in these hospitals use ROAM technology to access life-saving information and applications anywhere, anytime. Currently, it enhances patient outcomes by enabling physicians to securely access confidential patient information, including test results, from remote areas, such as their homes or practices, allowing for a quick diagnoses and reduced time to treatment.
About Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation
The Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation (AHSC) delivers health care to the communities of Southwestern New Brunswick, Canada, extending from Sussex to St. Stephen including the Fundy Isles of Grand Manan, Campobello and Deer Island. Saint John is the primary referral centre for the people of this region and, in a number of tertiary services, for the residents of the province. The Saint John Regional Hospital facility, one of Canada’s most modern and progressive hospitals, is the focal point of this highly integrated health network.
AHSC is the largest multi-facility Hospital Corporation in New Brunswick, comprised of twelve sites and health centres extending across 200 km, providing urban and rural, regional and local, hospital and home-based continuum of health care services.
AHSC serves a regional population of 200,000 and a provincial population of 760,000. AHSC has a team of 4,200 staff and 323 physicians.
Aside from patient care, education and research, AHSC is an accredited trauma centre providing services in cardiac, thoracic, neurosurgery and major vascular surgery.
AHSC provide expertise in neurosciences, micro-surgical reimplantation plastic surgery, pediatric and adult oncology and cardiac surgery.
About AnyWare Group
AnyWare Group is an innovative provider of customer-driven business solutions. Leveraging the Internet and the ROAM platform, AnyWare Group cost effectively enables organizations to deploy highly reliable, secure information-based business solutions. ROAM is a complete, secure platform for delivering information and applications to authorized users where they need it. ROAM is packaged with powerful tools, capabilities and engineering services designed to simplify the user experience, integrate with any application, and ease support efforts.
For more information on AnyWare Group, please contact:
Margie McNeil
Maverick PR
416.640.5525 ext. 242
margiem@maverickpr.com
For more information on Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, please contact:
Patricia Crowdis
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation
506.648.6116