TELUS Health Solutions Named Health Transformation Company of the Year

ITAC Award recognizes measureable improvements in patient outcomes and care delivery

MONTREAL , Dec. 2 /CNW/ - TELUS Health Solutions today announced it has been named the 2009 Health Transformation Company of the Year by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).

The award, presented at a gala event in Toronto , honours TELUS Health Solutions as the healthcare information and communication technology company that has most fundamentally transformed healthcare in 2009 through the use of health informatics. TELUS was nominated for providing a solution that transforms the management of chronic diseases in Canada .

"Being named Health Transformation Company of the Year by ITAC is a huge honour for the entire TELUS team," said Marc Filion , chief operation officer and general manager, TELUS Health Solutions. "As the number of Canadians with chronic disease continues to increase, we need to establish new models of care delivery that facilitate communication, foster collaboration and empower patients and their caregivers. The success of this project demonstrates the potential impact of an innovative solution to accelerate access to services for patients with chronic conditions across the country."

The award was presented specifically for outstanding results achieved for a Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) project implemented for patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) at Grand-Littoral Health and Social Services Centre (CSSS), located in Eastern Quebec . Results analyzed by University of Montreal researchers estimated that the program at Grand-Littoral achieved a net reduction in hospital readmissions of 44 per cent for patients using RPM. There was also a 23 per cent reduction in emergency department visits.

"At the outset we needed to ensure quality care was delivered across the continuum," said Sylvie Nolet , Director of Quality Services for CSSS and Grand Littoral. "The Remote Patient Monitoring solution from TELUS Health Solutions enabled health professionals from a variety of hospitals and departments, community health centres, the provincial tele-triage service and the pharmacist involved to collaboratively and effectively treat participating COPD patients while reducing the amount of time spent each day on monitoring by an average of 3 minutes per patient. The time saved enabled caregivers to increase their caseload from an average of 50 to 100 patients concurrently, which is an interesting productivity gain."

About ITAC Health

Representing more than 120 Canadian ICT companies that are actively involved in the health sector, ITAC Health is the healthcare division of ITAC, the Information Technology Association of Canada . Our mandate is to provide our members with access to public and private leaders of the healthcare industry, provide access to information and collaboration opportunities, and provide a consolidated voice for the industry when interacting with local and international governments in the promotion and governance of our industry. As a consolidated, single voice, members help influence the Canadian healthcare ICT market through active participation in our standing committees and various working groups.

About TELUS Health Solutions

TELUS Health Solutions, backed by Emergis, represents a unique set of technology, expertise and resources to help transform how information is used in the healthcare industry. TELUS Health Solutions has years of expertise in successfully implementing healthcare applications and information communication technology processes through industry leading solutions and consulting services to customers in Canada and around the world. It is backed by more than 1,500 TELUS Health Solutions team members including healthcare professionals. For more information, please visit telushealth.com.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada , with $9.6 billion of annual revenue and 11.9 million customer connections including 6.4 million wireless subscribers, 4.1 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers and more than 100,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle , TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video. In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $137 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 2.6 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Nine TELUS Community Boards across Canada lead our local philanthropic initiatives. For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: Stacey Masson, TELUS Media Relations, [phone], [email protected]