TELUS earns two-year contract extension with Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the operation of the Health Network System

Extension recognizes excellence in on-line and real time drug claims adjudication under the Ontario Public Drug Programs (OPDP)

TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS Health today announced a two-year extension to its agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the Health Network System (HNS). HNS provides computerized claim adjudication, pharmacy payment, and several batch and administrative support applications, to the OPDP. Pharmacies submit drug benefit claims electronically and the HNS validates eligibility, provides drug utilization review information messages, authorizes payment and calculates the government share of eligible prescription costs.

TELUS Health's management, operation and maintenance of electronic processing systems and technology support services enable the processing of drug claims under the OPDP. Under this 2-year extension, approximately 125 million Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) claims will be adjudicated and paid annually at TELUS' advanced data facilities in Ontario.

"We are extremely pleased that TELUS Health's contract to manage the largest, real-time online transaction processing system in the Ontario government has been extended by two years," said Paul Lepage, senior vice-president, TELUS Health. "This extension demonstrates our position as a trusted supplier in providing health information technology services and solutions to government agencies and private insurance companies. It also demonstrates our commitment to enable timely, efficient delivery of drug claims services and responsive administration of prescription drugs to qualified patients via pharmacies, hospitals and other registered healthcare facilities."

OPDP is supported by a portfolio of business solutions and IT services, comprising the HNS. Under the HNS Agreement, TELUS Health provides facilities management and operations as well as application development, support, and maintenance for a significant portion of the HNS. In addition to managing the Health Network, TELUS provides dedicated staff to support and enhance the system to meet the changing needs of the OPDP program.

By the end of 2011, more than 3,865 agencies and 161 hospitals were connected to the HNS and more than 150 authorized users had system access. The system adjudicates about 125 million online real-time transactions per year from the approximately 2.2 million Ontarians using ODB programs. Operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, the HNS adjudicates more than 55,000 claims per hour at its busiest periods.

About TELUS Health
TELUS Health is a leader in telehealth, electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, mobile home and community care, consumer health, benefits management and pharmacy management. Its solutions give health authorities, providers, physicians, patients and consumers the power to turn information into better health outcomes. For more information about TELUS Health, please visit www.telushealth.com.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Janice Murray
TELUS Health
416-487-5007
[email protected]