TSX Venture Exchange: MDX
Early detection points to reduction of costs and patient wait times for Canadians
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - MedX Health Corp. ("MedX") (TSX-V: MDX) announced today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Calian Health's Primacy Management Inc. ("Primacy"), to conduct a pilot program with MedX's unique skin assessment screening solution in select Primacy clinics.
Primacy is the largest medical clinic management company in Canada with more than 800 physicians practicing at more than 140 clinics located in Loblaw stores (including Real Canadian Superstore®, Zehrs®, Loblaws® and No Frills®) across Canada. Primacy clinics collectively serve over 6 million patients a year.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation of Canada, 80,000 skin cancers are diagnosed in Canada each year, more than 5,000 of which are melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. There are more new cases of skin cancer annually than those of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers combined. Despite this, only about 10% of Canadians have their moles and lesions screened on a regular basis.
"Regular screening is key to early detection and reducing the cost and health impact of skin cancer," said Rob von der Porten, President and CEO of MedX. "Making screening easily available and having these images assessed remotely by dermatologists using the Ontario Telemedicine Network promises to fill a gap in assessment, while leveraging dermatologists' time and skills," he added. Mr. von der Porten noted that when skin cancers are caught early, they are treatable at a low cost to the health care system. If not caught until later stages the prognosis deteriorates and the treatment cost escalates.
Primacy believes that by leveraging their clinic network to provide ease of access to dermatological triaging, current wait times for patients could be significantly reduced. "Upon successful completion of the pilot, we are planning a broader roll-out of this service to give even more Canadians access to early screening, which we hope will dramatically improve skin cancer's impact," said Melanie Holek, General Manager of Primacy.
"We are delighted to have Primacy as our channel partner," said Mr. von der Porten. "We believe their in-depth knowledge and experience in providing solutions to health problems facing Canadians is superior and wide-reaching."
The pilot project allows individuals with concerns over potential skin abnormalities to be seen by physicians at select Primacy locations. If a mole or lesion appears suspicious, the person will have the option of being scanned using MedX's proven Siascopy technology, and the scan will be forwarded to a dermatologist who will complete an assessment within 72 hours. This technology could dramatically reduce patient wait times to have a suspicious mole or lesion, diagnosed by a dermatologist and allow potentially life-threatening skin cancers to get expedited treatment.
"MedX's SIAscopy technology is currently being used in more than 200 pharmacy and clinic locations in Norway, Sweden and the UK in similar networked solutions as well as in hundreds of stand-alone applications internationally with physicians, so it is especially rewarding to be launching in Canada," noted Mr. von der Porten.
About MedX
MedX, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, is a leading medical device company focused on skin cancer with its SIAscopy technology. This technology is imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS™, SIMSYS™, and MoleMate™, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS™, SIMSYS™, and MoleMate™ include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view up to 2 mm beneath suspicious moles and lesions in a pain free, non-invasive manner, with its software then creating real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. The devices are sold to physicians and clinics, as well as being deployed in pharmacies and remote clinics from where the images are sent to dermatologists who perform a diagnosis. These products are Health Canada, FDA (US), ARTG and CE approved for use in Canada, the US, Australia, the European Union and Turkey. SIAMETRICS™ is a unique product used in a specialized market for research into the clinical effectiveness of medical treatments of certain skin conditions. MedX also designs, manufactures and distributes quality laser and light therapy technologies for use in numerous medical settings, approved in major jurisdictions, to provide drug free and non-invasive treatment of tissue damage and pain. For more information and a complete profile of MedX and its products visit www.medxhealth.com.
About Primacy Management Inc., a Calian Group Company
Primacy is the largest medical clinic management company in Canada with more than 800 physicians practicing at more than 140 clinics located in Loblaw stores (including Real Canadian Superstore®, Zehrs®, Loblaws® and No Frills®) across Canada. Primacy clinics collectively serve over 6 million patients a year.
About Calian Health
Calian Health is one of Canada's largest national health services organizations with over 10 years of experience in the management of healthcare professionals and health programs, as well as the operation and management of primary care and occupational health clinics. With a network of over 1,500 healthcare professionals, Calian supports over six million patient visits per year at over 180 clinic locations across Canada.
DISCLAIMER
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the company's limited operating history and history of losses, the inability to successfully obtain further funding, the inability to raise capital on terms acceptable to the company, the inability to compete effectively in the marketplace, the inability to complete the proposed acquisition and such other risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements. All forward looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
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SOURCE MedX Health Corp.
MedX Health Corp., Deborah Thompson, Media Relations, [email protected], Phone: 416 918 9551
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