Tele-pharmacy project launched for LTC residents

EDMONTON – Residents in long-term care facilities in Alberta can now access care from their pharmacist remotely thanks to a new pilot project that uses virtual care to improve connectivity between patients and healthcare providers. The CareRx Alberta Virtual Care Project is a collaboration between CareRx Corporation, a Canadian specialty pharmacy care provider, pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd, and Health City.

CareRx pharmacists in Alberta are using CloudMD’s virtual health platform, Livecare, to provide care to residents and assess the impact that virtual care can have on chronic disease management, particularly focused on residents with diabetes given its prevalence in the long-term care setting.

The project aims to optimize treatment by utilizing a screening tool to assess cardiovascular risk reduction and customize care for each resident.

“Pharmacists play an important role as part of the long-term care team and that role is expanding to include chronic disease management and proactive medication optimization,” said Ryan Stempfle (pictured), vice president and general manager (Western Canada) of CareRx. “Virtual care platforms are expected to increase connectivity with residents and create more opportunities to provide timely, preventative care to those residents that need it the most.”

CareRx selected Livecare for the project due to its user-friendly platform and customizable experience. Using the platform, residents will have the ability to remotely access services such as pharmaceutical consultations. Livecare’s technology will allow a full integration into CareRx’s current pharmacy services, with the opportunity for further integration as residents’ needs evolve.

The remote services will provide residents with access to care in a safe environment and reduce the risk of exposure to illness, especially in light of COVID-19.

“Providing an integrated virtual care option for long-term care residents will increase access to care for a vulnerable population, reducing their risk of exposure and creating a connected care community for patients managing chronic conditions,” said Reg Joseph, Health City’s CEO. “Increased access to care results in early intervention, better health outcomes for residents, and lower overall cost to the health system.”

“Boehringer Ingelheim’s collaboration with CareRx and Health City highlights our dedication to delivering innovative solutions that serve current and future healthcare needs,” said Andrea Sambati, president and CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd. “The CareRx Alberta Virtual Care Project will not only improve outcomes for an at-risk patient population, but also provide benefits to the healthcare system, such as reducing hospitalizations and overall healthcare costs.”

This project provides patients and care teams with new tools to increase connectivity and drive positive health outcomes for the community. Project evaluations will inform future expansions.

About CareRx Corporation
CareRx is Canada’s leading provider of specialty pharmacy services to seniors. We serve approximately 50,000 residents in over 900 seniors and other communities, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, assisted living facilities, and group homes. We are a national organization with a large network of pharmacy fulfillment centres strategically located across the country. This allows us to deliver medications in a timely and cost-effective manner and quickly respond to routine changes in medication management. We use best-in-class technology that automates the preparation and verification of multi-dose compliance packaging of medication, providing the highest levels of safety and adherence for individuals with complex medication regimes. We take an active role in working with our home operator partners to promote resident health, staff education, and medication system quality and efficiency. For more information, visit www.carerx.ca.

About Health City
Health City is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation that works with clinicians, innovators, philanthropic organizations, and companies to develop new pathways of care that can drive better health outcomes and economic development in the health sector. Our focus is on transforming innovations from our health sector into solutions that have commercial application and global relevance, adopting them for impact locally and scaling them for export to global markets. For more information, visit www.edmontonhealthcity.ca.

About Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
Making new and better medicines for humans and animals is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to create breakthrough therapies that change lives. Since its founding in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is independent and family-owned. We have the freedom to pursue our long-term vision, looking ahead to identify the health challenges of the future and targeting those areas of need where we can do the most good. More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found at http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca or in our annual report http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About CloudMD
For more information on CloudMD and the Livecare telehealth solution visit https://investors.cloudmd.ca.