Canadian Province Holds Hearings on Reduction of Drug Costs
VisualMED Invited to Present its Solutions to Minister and Parliamentary Commission
August 23, 2005. VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ OTC BB: VMCS) today made a presentation to the Quebec Minister of Health in the context of a parliamentary commission on drug and medication policy reform. The VisualMED group was led at the meeting by Mr. André Nadeau, member of VisualMEDs Board of Advisors. Mr. Nadeau and Health Minister Dr. Philippe Couillard spent an hour discussing the health informatics challenges facing Quebec, and the potential role of VisualMED in addressing some of these challenges. Minutes of the conversation, which took place in the provincial capital, were transcribed by the parliamentary commission, and are available at http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fra/37legislature1/DEBATS/epreuve/cas/050823/0930.htm
The province of Quebec, which bears more than 50% of the multi-billion dollar annual drug and medication costs incurred by its seven million residents, has decided to implement solutions to both reduce cost, as well as lessen adverse drug effects (ADE). The Quebec government has undertaken a major parliamentary review of available Information Technology solutions to affect an immediate overhaul of its policy.
A recent study done for a major 650-bed tertiary care facility in Montreal concluded that the hospital would save 15% of its pharmacy budget by using the VisualMED system. Combined with the savings that come from the reduction of adverse drug events (one in eight patients), that hospital would recoup the complete cost of acquisition of VisualMED in less than 18 months.
U.S. Marketing Update
There is continuing pressure on U.S. authorities to help finance hospital acquisition of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), with the likes of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Junior New York Senator Hillary Clinton actively campaigning for an immediate response to these pressing healthcare issues. The bi-partisan nature of this drive to push through healthcare reform financing should accelerate the widespread adoption of Clinical Information Systems like VisualMED.
The Company continues to expand its focused sales effort in the U.S., especially targeting privately owned modern hospitals, mostly but not exclusively in the mid-west. There has been a rapid expansion in the number of hospitals that are in various levels of discussion with the Company, most notably in Kansas and Nebraska, where our inititatives in specific regional campaigns is bringing good results. We are also involved in preliminary but promising talks with some two dozen other hospital organizations of various size located in the states of Mississippi and Arkansas, as well as Massachusetts and New Jersey. These opportunities represent just a portion of the sites in those states that will be considering CPOE and Electronic Medical Records over the next three years.
If federal and state legislatures continue to provide financial incentives and support to healthcare institutions willing to modernize their clinical procedures, the core market for VisualMED software solutions will undergo increasing expansion, as new norms of patient safety and cost savings are established.
Italy
VisualMED COO Barry Scharf met with the Italian Secretary of State for Healthcare in Rome at the beginning of the summer to lobby for extra funding to provincial authorities who would agree to purchase VisualMED if there was sufficient funding. VisualMED will continue to step up its efforts to get more contracts in Italy with the expectation of such funding.
As a result, VisualMED has hired a former member of the Abruzzo Provincial Government in Italy to help two mid-size hospitals and one major university medical centre in that province move forward in deploying VisualMEDs CPOE in their region. These hospitals have already put in a request for funding from the ministry.
About VisualMED and its products
VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. is a leading provider of clinical informatics solutions that help hospitals and healthcare authorities reduce medication errors, increase personnel efficiency and bring down operating costs. One of its key components, Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE), is a core solution in the new agenda to promote greater patient safety and reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with medication error. The company is involved in major government initiatives on three continents to modernize hospitals and healthcare delivery.
Detailed information on our company and its products is available on our web site at visualmedsolutions.com.
Contact: Barry Scharf, COO
Tel: ext.108
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information provided herein, this press release may contain information and statements of a forward-looking nature concerning the future performance of the Company. These statements are based on suppositions and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Such factors may include, without excluding other considerations, fluctuations in quarterly results, evolution in customer demand for the Company's products and services, the impact of price pressures exerted by competitors, and general market trends or economic changes. As a result, readers are advised that actual results may differ from expected results.
