QHR announces alliance with McKesson Canada

KELOWNA, BC, March 6, 2013 /CNW/ - (TSX-V: QHR) QHR Technologies Inc., a leader in the health care information technology sector, announces that its Electronic Medical Records ("EMR") division and McKesson Canada's RelayHealth have formed an alliance to bring their industry leading technologies together to improve efficiencies between Canadian health care providers and patients. This collaboration will enable increased visibility and sharing of private records for both clinics and patients across the country.

The integration of QHR's Accuro®EMR system with McKesson Canada's RelayHealth service brings two key components of the health care system together. Currently, patient information in the doctor's EMR is not consistently shared among the care teams in various treatment settings. With Accuro being at the point-of-care in the community, it makes perfect sense to synchronize these records with RelayHealth, a web-based service that provides complete and secure information flow of a patient's record to all authorized health care providers.

"It is a shared vision for both QHR and McKesson Canada, to bring information together for our clinicians and patients in a seamless manner. Both systems are secure and the privacy of records is of the utmost importance," says Al Hildebrandt, CEO of QHR Technologies Inc.

In addition to integrating with all EMRs and providing a fully interoperable solution, RelayHealth offers a patient portal that enables individuals to view their own medical records. This ensures information for hospitals, long term care, community care and emergency care providers is as comprehensive as possible.

Quality patient care is dependent on the smooth and timely transfer of information between different treatment settings. By facilitating information exchange and medical collaboration, RelayHealth can accelerate access to care, decrease waiting times, enable better, faster diagnosis, improve patient self-sufficiency, minimize duplication and errors in the system, and reduce costs. It is intended to be made available at no cost to patients through their health care systems and providers.

"Clinicians are in urgent need of information sharing and this partnership between our companies is a huge leap forward to the benefit of both clinicians and patients. We are excited to be working with McKesson and believe the strength and market leadership of QHR and McKesson, working in collaboration, will be of great benefit to the Canadian health care market," says Hildebrandt.

"A paradigm shift is taking place regarding the patient's role within health care. The trend is clearly moving from the traditional approach to a patient-centric approach, in which the patient is actively collaborating with their health care providers. Patients want the opportunity to be partners in their care coordination and delivery, and health care professionals want connectivity and clinical continuity. McKesson Canada's alliance with QHR is making this happen," says Dale Weil, Senior Vice President, Integrated Healthcare Solutions, Strategy and Business Development at McKesson Canada.

McKesson's RelayHealth has been delivering a health information exchange platform for more than 13 years in the United States, with over 20 million patients and 36,000 physicians benefiting from the service. RelayHealth is now live in Canada and is accessible to all Canadians at www.relayhealth.ca.

QHR entered the Canadian EMR market in 2004. Since then, through strong organic growth and several strategic acquisitions, QHR Technologies Inc. now supports over 9,000 physicians in six provinces, many of whom were Canada's EMR pioneers and advocates for a national EMR system.

About McKesson Canada

Founded more than 100 years ago, McKesson Canada is dedicated to delivering vital medicines, supplies and information technologies that enable the health care industry to provide patients with better, safer care. Our solutions empower pharmacies, manufacturers, hospitals and other health care institutions by enabling them to get closer to the millions of patients they serve every single day, while contributing to the quality and safety of care in Canada.

About QHR Technologies Inc.

QHR is a leader in quality and technology, providing software and services in the following markets:

In the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) market, QHR offers a suite of medical software modules that provide computer-based medical records for family physicians, medical specialists, and surgeons, as well as administrative modules for billing and patient scheduling, that is a key component of the move throughout Canada to provide electronic healthcare records for all Canadians. QHR also provides on-site and off-site (ASP) hosting capabilities for the EMR market.

In the health care Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) market, QHR provides best in class clearinghouse services, with over 1,500 payers, which assist US health care providers to exchange claim information that ensures accurate revenue management. QHR provides a progressive medical billing service that outsources coding, payer reconciliation and revenue reporting. QHR's software also supports employer health plan enrolment, employee health plan eligibility and health care interoperability through a 5010 standard based EDI gateway.

In the Enterprise Management Software (EMS) market, QHR specializes in workforce management software, which consists of integrated payroll, staff scheduling and human resource software, and in customized financial management software built on the Microsoft Dynamics GP platform. These products are targeted at complex health care, social services and public safety environments.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements are subject to risks that may cause the actual results to be materially different in future periods from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statement. QHR is a technology business development enterprise where investment and product enhancements must be carefully managed to achieve long-term revenue growth and profitability. It is our policy not to update forward looking statements except to the extent required under applicable securities laws. Further information on the Company is available at www.sedar.com or at the Company's website, www.QHRtechnologies.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: QHR Technologies Inc.

Jim Wilson
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
QHR Technologies Inc.
416-220-7484
[email protected] 

Danièle Dufour
Director, Corporate Communications
McKesson Canada
514-832-8473
[email protected]