ROCKVILLE, Md., April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InforMedix Holdings, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: IFMX) today announced that it has partnered with senior leaders from The University of Pennsylvania, Wharton’s Leonard Davis Institute, McKesson BioServices, and St. Vincent Healthcare to create a program for outcomes research, disease management and clinical drug trials.
The focus of the Disease Management and Telehealth Outcomes Research Program is a defined process for measuring clinical outcomes and financial return-on-investment of disease-specific protocols and Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) technology.
Third party payors, Medicaid, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have been seeking new technologies and care management strategies to manage the staggering costs of caring for high cost patients with chronic diseases. The Disease Management and Telehealth Outcomes Research Program is developing formal outcomes research programs that accurately measure the clinical and financial returns of deploying the Med-eMonitor System as well as disease-specific, clinically proven and cost-effective disease management protocols that can be efficiently furnished to thousands of patients using remote patient monitoring and management technologies that are supported by nurse specialists in call centers. These remote monitoring protocols can provide early warning signs of emerging medical conditions known to significantly increase the cost of care. Once proven cost-effective, these disease-specific modules could be successfully marketed to CMS, Medicaid, third party payors, and self-insured corporations.
InforMedix has developed the Med-eMonitor System, an integrated hardware, software, and medication packaging system, which enables pharmaceutical and disease management companies to perform real-time medical management and patient communications in clinical drug trials and disease management programs, and to improve medication and care plan adherence.
Dr. Mary Naylor, Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and Senior Fellow of the Wharton School’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, author of numerous research publications and book chapters, and winner of numerous national research awards and honors said, “Treatment adherence and care management of chronically ill populations has been a longstanding challenge for healthcare providers, especially among patients in remote locations. This program should provide important evidence that the use of personalized technology such as the Med-eMonitor System offers a realistic solution for patients and healthcare providers alike.”
Dr. Sandeep Wadhwa, Vice President of Care Management Services, McKesson Health Solutions, stated, “This program has the potential to drive a significant change in the approach to patient management. McKesson is a strong supporter of utilizing technology to enhance patient outcomes.” Dr. Wadhwa is a national expert in disease management for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries and is regularly called upon by the media to offer an expert opinion about issues in these areas. Dr. Wadhwa is active in health care policy and has worked for the White House and the U.S. Congress, and has testified before four Congressional committees.
David Irion, Executive Director of the St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation, commented, “Real time care of patients through aging services technologies such as the Med-eMonitor is an exciting development in the future of healthcare. In remote areas of Montana, these technologies may allow the elderly to age in place, while providers hundreds of miles away manage their care. We are pleased to be a collaborator in this endeavor.” St. Vincent is the network hub for the Partners in Health Telemedicine Network, which has global connectivity capabilities. St. Vincent recently founded the Center for Healthy Aging, a regional program based in eastern Montana that will include the use of advanced telemonitoring technologies in clinical research and care service provision for remotely located elderly patients.
Dr. Bruce Kehr, CEO of InforMedix stated, “Third party payors, Medicaid, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have been seeking new technologies and care management strategies to enhance traditional clinical intervention services. This has been largely driven by the need to manage the staggering costs of caring for high cost patients, especially those with chronic diseases.”
During the program, disease-specific protocols will be reviewed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Nursing and Medicine and will be deployed through McKesson Care Management Services and InforMedix’s Med-eMonitor System. In addition, comparable research in the clinical drug trials market will analyze Med-eMonitor’s impact on medication compliance, protocol adherence, patient medication safety, effect size, time to trial completion, and cost of conducting a trial. The first clinical study project will be in Type II Diabetes, involving urban patients in the Philadelphia area and rural and wilderness patients in Montana. Leading telehealth researchers holding joint appointments at The University of Pennsylvania’s Schools of Nursing and Medicine and Wharton’s Leonard Davis Institute will conduct the research and analyze the results.
“Our goal is to generate conclusive and quantifiable independent third party data regarding cost savings and improved quality of care through implementation of the Med-eMonitor System in the disease management market,” added Dr. Kehr. “We can then utilize financial modeling developed by Wharton’s Leonard Davis Institute to demonstrate return on investment for potential customers managing a variety of disease populations.”
The initial focus of research activities will be in four critical areas, which are of paramount concern to CMS, Medicaid, third party payors, and pharmaceutical companies. These areas include Leading Indicators of Patient Decline, Patient Medication Adherence, Patient Drug Safety and Patient Self-Care.
“We are driving market penetration by providing cost effective solutions to challenges in the disease management industry,” concluded Dr. Kehr. “InforMedix continues to form strategic partnerships and alliances with industry-leading companies and research teams.”
ABOUT INFORMEDIX
InforMedix is a growing medical technology company with a proprietary device and software solution for enhancing medication compliance and safety monitoring of patients in clinical trials and disease management markets. Clinical studies have demonstrated the Company’s Med-eMonitor System(TM) to deliver 94% medication adherence and 96% protocol adherence in participating patient populations. InforMedix’ strategic alliances with McKesson BioServices and other leaders in the clinical trial and disease management markets are driving customer penetration. InforMedix’ 15 issued patents (plus 14 pending) have been cited as prior art in over 150 other issued patents. To find out more about InforMedix, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: IFMX) , visit our website at http://www.informedix.com/.
This report contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These statements include "[o]nce proven cost-effective, these disease-specific modules could be successfully marketed to CMS, Medicaid, third party payors, and self-insured corporations; and this program should provide important evidence that the use of personalized technology such as the Med-eMonitor System offers a realistic solution for patients and healthcare providers alike.” References made to the discussion of the risk factors are detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 3, 2004, our prospectus dated March 28, 2005 and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise the information contained in any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For more information, please contact: Corporate Investor Relations Media Relations Bruce A. Kehr, M.D. Kathy Price Ivette Almeida Chief Executive Office Managing Director Managing Director InforMedix, Inc. The Anne McBride Company The Anne McBride Company Tel: 301-984-1566 Tel: 212-983-1702, x212 Tel: 212-983-1702, x209
InforMedix Holdings, Inc.
CONTACT: Bruce A. Kehr, M.D., Chief Executive Office of InforMedix,Inc., +1-301-984-1566; or Investor: Kathy Price, Managing Director,+1-212-983-1702, ext. 212, or Media Relations, Ivette Almeida, ManagingDirector, +1-212-983-1702, ext. 209, both of The Anne McBride Company
Web site: http://www.informedix.com/