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Chronic diseases
Atlantic Health Sciences employs IT
solution for diabetes
SAINT JOHN, N.B. – An IT-based solution for empowering patients with
chronic diseases to manage their illness from home, workplace or while
traveling 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 specializing in diabetes, believes
this approach to healthcare will help maintain the independence and
health of patients 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,” said Dr. Dornan. “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.”
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 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,” said 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,” said 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 Centre
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, comprising 12 sites and health centres which extend across
200 km. They provide a mixture of urban and rural, regional and local,
hospital and home-based healthcare 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 access
solutions through its flagship technology Role Oriented Access
Management (ROAM). Built on industry leading security technologies, ROAM
offers a secure access infrastructure enhancing an organization’s
efficiencies by enabling real-time viewing and retrieval of its
applications and information rapidly and securely from any location in
the world. Health organizations use ROAM to access mission critical
transactions and deliver sensitive, data intensive messages and
information. Headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, AnyWare
Group’s services are delivered as a managed remotely service through its
diverse technology points of presence throughout Canada and the USA.
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