Toronto, ON (Sept 12, 2012) – Imagine having all of your health information in one place that you control and that you can access easily through your smart phone or laptop. Imagine being able to share that information with anyone you trust to support you in your health and wellness activities. Imagine having proven health apps to help you monitor, improve and maintain your health, or that link you with a professional health coach for expert advice and support.
Today, it was announced that 16 Ontario private sector, academic and not-for-profit research partners have come together for the Connected Health and Wellness Project (CHWP) that will make what was once only imagined a reality. Through the CHWP, a new people-centred and technology-enabled system will be developed that makes it possible for patients to keep health information from different hospitals or clinics in one place, and lets them decide who they trust to see that information. The system will offer tools to help people better manage their own health and wellness and more easily connect with health and wellness professionals. Collaboration among these professionals will also be enhanced.
The Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced a contribution of up to $15.5 million which, combined with $23.3 million in support by the major partners, will spur health care innovation in southern Ontario as well as job creation in industry, health care and academia. These investments will support the work of major partners York University, NexJ Systems and McMaster University, along with other partners, to develop the Connected Health and Wellness Project.
Benefits of the project will include increased health-care system efficiency, minimizing dependency on the health care system, better health outcomes for people and patients and economic growth through the creation of personalized health-care services.
York University will develop a new training program and professional standards for the emerging Health Coach profession that will combine multiple skill sets in behaviour change for health promotion; disease and injury prevention; treatment and rehabilitation -– the leading university in Canada to do so. Working collaboratively with other health care providers and the patient through mobile technology, the Health Coach helps people maintain and improve their health and wellness at each stage of life. A related focus is on wellness programs using the mobile technology and Health Coach in university/college and workplace settings.
"This partnership is an important step forward for transforming and sustaining healthcare and wellness systems in Canada and globally," said Harvey Skinner, Dean of the Faculty of Health at York University. "The combination of mobile technology, electronic health records and behaviour change supported by a Health Coach will help more people live healthier, longer, and receive timely access to effective healthcare when needed. This is the essence of people-centred health.”
NexJ Systems has developed the NexJ Connected Wellness Platform, a cloud-based solution that gives patients access to their personal health record and connects them with their extended care team including physicians, advocates, family and friends. Healthcare providers, governments, and insurance providers will use NexJ Connected Wellness Platform to connect with patients, collaborate with peers, and access information across multiple systems including laboratories, pharmacies, EMRs, and HIEs. Patient-oriented applications such as personal health coaching and disease screening will be accessible through the NexJ Connected Wellness Platform and an application programing interface will allow third-party software developers to extend its functionality through new applications. The people-centred approach advanced by the NexJ Connected Wellness Platform is meeting the global trend to move away from acute care to a primary care and wellness coaching paradigm of health.
“NexJ is committed to developing, marketing and selling people-centered health solutions that encourage sustained behavior change in order to reduce an individual’s need for medication, lessen the costs on the healthcare system and most importantly improve patient outcomes,” said William M. Tatham, Chief Executive Officer, NexJ Systems Inc. “We are strong advocates of partnering with government, academia, industry and non-profit organizations to apply innovative research to our platform in order to demonstrate value and commercialize product.”
McMaster University, renowned for research intensity and innovation, has developed and is the lead organization for OSCAR, an electronic health record, and MyOSCAR, a personal health record managed by the patient. These technologies will be further developed through the project and will be core components of the new people-centred, technology-enabled health and wellness system.
“This is transformative work,” said Dr. David Price, chair of the Department of Family Medicine of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University. “This project will speed our vision for a more connected health system that will improve health, save money and improve both the patient’s and health-care provider’s experience.”
Other partners in the project include:
Academic: George Brown College, Seneca College and Centennial College
Industry: RIM; Rogers; Tyze Personal Networks; OSCAR Service Providers; PryLynx Corporation and Trivaris
Health-care providers: Southlake Regional Health Centre; North York General Hospital; Centre for Global eHealth Innovation (University Health Network) and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School
Watch the VIDEO:
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto – Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 250,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 28 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
Media Contacts:
Joanne Rider
Media Relations, York University
(416) 736-5593
jrider@yorku.ca
Matthew Bogart
Media Relations, NexJ Systems
(416) 222-5611 ext. 307
matthew.bogart@nexj.com
Frank Clarke
Faculty of Health, York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 21072
fclarke@yorku.ca
Veronica McGuire
Media Relations, Faculty of Health Sciences
McMaster University
(905) 525-9140 ext. 22169
vmcguir@mcmaster.ca
