Australia Substantially Increases Research Collaboration with China, According to Thomson Reuters Study

New Zealand researchers double collaboration with Spain and Norway

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON, March 9 /CNW/ -- A study from Thomson Reuters released today shows broadening international collaboration in the research of Australia and, to a lesser degree, New Zealand, over the past 10 years. The United States continues to be the biggest contributor to Australian and New Zealand publications, but of special interest is a sizable increase of Australia's collaboration with China.

The study, Global Research Report: Australia and New Zealand, found that collaboration within the Asia Pacific region is notably changing. Though collaboration with Australia among some Asia Pacific nations (such as New Zealand, India, and Singapore) increased, and collaboration with China doubled (rising from 2.3 percent to 4.4 percent of all Australian outputs), collaboration with Japan remained unchanged. Likewise, Japan's rank as a contributor of co-authored papers with New Zealand fell from sixth to eighth. 

"Researchers in Australia and New Zealand have been increasing their share of publications co-authored with international colleagues," said Jonathan Adams, director of research evaluation at Thomson Reuters. "We've seen a shift in geographic focus of these collaborations. While such countries as Russia and South Africa decrease in importance, there are increases in collaboration with Spain and Switzerland, and more importantly, with China and India."

    Other key findings include:

    --  Australia's share of world research publication output has grown

        steadily from 2.85 percent in 1999 to 3.18 percent in 2008.

    --  In the same period, the volume of Australian publications has risen

        annually by an average of 5 percent -- a growth rate higher than that

        of world publication averages.

    --  Computer science, materials science, environment/ecology, and clinical

        medicine are subject areas where Australia has increased its outputs,

        consistent with its national research priorities.

    --  Subject areas that have grown in the volume of outputs in New Zealand

        are computer sciences, biology and biochemistry, immunology, and

        neurosciences and behavior, consistent with the country's government

        research, science and technology agenda.

The study is part of the Global Research Report series from Thomson Reuters that illustrates the changing landscape and dynamics of scientific research around the world and draws on data found in Web of Science(SM), available on the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge(SM), platform -- the world's largest citation environment of the highest quality scholarly literature.

For more information, please visit http://researchanalytics.thomsonreuters.com/grr/.

New studies showPCA3 prostate cancer marker can help guide repeat prostate biopsy decisions and predict risk of aggressive cancer

More than 2,400 men tested in largest worldwide studies to date.

QUEBEC CITY, March 8 /CNW Telbec/ - DiagnoCure, Inc. (TSX: CUR), a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering laboratory services, announced that the clinical utility of the PROGENSA(R) PCA3 test, developed and commercialized by its partner Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO), was confirmed in two large worldwide studies, conducted in a subset of patients in GlaxoSmithKline's REDUCE trial of dutasteride. The results demonstrate that PCA3 can help determine whether men suspected of having prostate cancer should undergo a repeat biopsy and can predict the risk of having an aggressive cancer. The studies were presented last week at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) in San Francisco. 

"This four-year multicenter worldwide study is the largest to date performed on DiagnoCure's PCA3 marker. It shows that the test can be useful in managing patients suspected of having prostate cancer. For doctors and patients struggling with the dilemma of the traditional PSA test that has a well-known low specificity, the PCA3 test, with a specificity of up to 80% (depending on the cut-off), can offer a more reliable answer. These results indicate that the PCA3 test can help reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies and help identify patients that have a more aggressive cancer, representing a step forward in personalized patient care," said Dr Yves Fradet, co-founder and President of DiagnoCure. 

In the studies presented at the ASCO GU meeting, PCA3 was used to test urine samples from men enrolled in the REDUCE trial of GlaxoSmithKline's drug dutasteride. PCA3 testing was done on urine samples from 1,140 men in the placebo arm of the REDUCE trial, and from 1,308 men treated with dutasteride. All men underwent prostate biopsies two and four years after enrollment in the study. 

The first PCA3 study presented at the meeting originated from the placebo arm of the REDUCE trial. This study, which was highlighted in ASCO's official press program, showed that PCA3 scores were significantly correlated with a positive prostate biopsy result, and that men who had higher PCA3 scores were more likely to have prostate cancer. Specifically, cancer was diagnosed in only 6% of men with very low PCA3 scores, but in 57% of men with very high PCA3 scores. 

PCA3 scores also correlated with cancer aggressiveness (as defined by the Gleason Score): median PCA3 scores were higher in men with high-grade cancers than in those with low-grade cancers. Finally, the PCA3 test also predicted the likelihood of a positive prostate biopsy performed two years after the test. 

The second PCA3 study originated from the patients treated with dutasteride in the REDUCE trial. This study demonstrated that PCA3 also can be used to predict prostate biopsy outcomes in men taking dutasteride. It confirmed earlier research that showed PCA3 outperforms serum PSA testing for prostate cancer detection, and improves diagnostic accuracy when combined with serum PSA testing and other clinical information.

About DiagnoCure 

DiagnoCure (TSX: CUR) is a life sciences company commercializing high-value cancer diagnostic tests and delivering laboratory services that increase clinician and patient confidence in making critical treatment decisions. DiagnoCure Oncology Laboratories, a subsidiary of DiagnoCure Inc., launched in 2008 the Previstage(TM) GCC Colorectal Cancer Staging Test, the first GCC-based molecular test for the management of colorectal cancer. A major study published in the February 18, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrated that GCC, to which DiagnoCure owns exclusive worldwide diagnostic rights, is the strongest independent predictor of colorectal cancer recurrence. More clinical studies are underway to confirm the clinical utility of the Previstage(TM) GCC test. The Company has a strategic alliance with Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: GPRO) for the development and commercialization of a second-generation prostate cancer test using PCA3, DiagnoCure's proprietary molecular marker. This test is available through laboratories in the U.S. using PCA3 analyte specific reagents (ASR) from Gen-Probe, in Europe as the CE-marked PROGENSA(R) PCA3 in vitro assay, and in Canada. A clinical study aimed at securing FDA approval for the commercialization of PROGENSA(R) PCA3 test in the U.S. is underway. For more information, visit www.diagnocure.com.

Proposed Rule for the Establishment of Certification Programs for Health Information Technology

A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

March 2, 2010

Today the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) outlining the proposed approach for establishing a certification program to test and certify electronic health records (EHRs). The HITECH Act mandates the development of a certification program which will give purchasers and users of EHR technology assurances that the technology and products have the necessary functionality and security to help meet meaningful use criteria. While we are making significant strides toward modernizing our health care system, these efforts will only succeed if providers and patients are confident that their health information systems are safe and functional.

The proposed rule incorporates two phases of development for the certification program to ensure that eligible professionals and eligible hospitals are able to adopt and implement Certified EHR Technology in time to qualify for meaningful use incentive payments. The rulemaking process will take time, so this phased approach provides a bridge  to detailed guidelines to support an ongoing program of testing and certification of health IT.

The first proposed program creates a temporary certification process under which the National Coordinator would authorize organizations to assume many of the responsibilities that will eventually be fulfilled under the permanent certification program. For the permanent certification program, the rule proposes transitioning much of the responsibility for testing and certification to organizations in the private sector.

Publication of the proposed rule on the Establishment of Certification Programs for Health Information Technology is an important first step in bringing structure and cohesion to the evaluation of EHRs, EHR modules, and potentially other types of health IT.  The programs will help support end users of certified products, and ultimately serve the interests of each patient by ensuring that their information is securely managed and available where and when it is needed.

Your input is essential to bringing this important process to fruition.  We encourage your participation in the open public comment period. 

Additional information on both of these programs and how you can comment can be found through the HHS news release issued today and at the http://HealthIT.HHS.Gov website.

The vision of the HITECH Act is unfolding rapidly, and all of us at ONC look forward to continuing to work with you to achieve the meaningful use of EHRs.

Sincerely,

David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

OTN offering expertise, services and solutions to organizations and healthcare jurisdictions around the world

[Another Great Canadian Success Story]

TORONTO, Feb. 26 /CNW/ - As one of the world's largest and most active telemedicine networks, the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) will faciliate more than 100,000 clinical encounters and distance education opportunities for more than 300,000 people across nearly one thousand sites this year. Secure, reliable and responsive, OTN enables improved access to a variety of clinical programs and services for patients and educational opportunities for health care providers.

OTN's continued growth and success has resulted in global requests for its expertise and it has established a division to facilitate the efforts of other jurisdictions to develop their own telemedicine programs and services.

"OTN is now able to offer our expertise, services and solutions to organizations and healthcare jurisdictions around the world," says OTN CEO Dr. Ed Brown. "Using the skills, processes, technologies and services pioneered by OTN in Ontario since 1993, OTN can work with interested health care organizations and jurisdictions around the world to help them deliver a world-class Telemedicine service."

OTN offers a complete and comprehensive range of telemedicine solutions and services. From those just getting started to those considering scaling up an existing telemedicine operation to the next level, OTN can now offer healthcare jurisdictions around the world a comprehensive telemedicine offering so that they are able to focus on patient care.

In addition, OTN continues to respond to its goal of increased adoption of telemedicine by enabling a more efficient, inexpensive way to integrate telemedicine into a health care provider's practice. OTN has integrated Polycom's PC-based Converged Management Application (CMA) with OTN's sophisticated telemedicine tools and practices. "OTN has been a true innovator and leader in the telehealth market for a number of years," said Dr. Deborah Jeffries, director of Healthcare Markets at Polycom. "We're honored to work with the team at OTN, and we're excited to demonstrate our combined solutions at HIMSS10."

Demonstrations will be featured at both the OTN booth No.6210 and the Polycom booth No.6201.

For further information: Rhona Lahey, Government and Media Relations, (613) 867-9498, rlahey@otn.ca

Gartner enters into Agreement to Acquire AMR Research, Inc.

STAMFORD, Conn., December 1, 2009 —    Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT), the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, today announced that it has agreed to acquire AMR Research, Inc. for approximately $64 million in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments. With projected full year 2009 revenues of approximately $40 million, AMR Research is a leading research and advisory services firm serving supply chain management and IT professionals. The firm is recognized for its research focused on the intersection of business processes and technology for the supply chain professional.

The acquisition of AMR Research is expected to expand Gartner's suite of research offerings and also complement its consulting and events businesses. Moreover, the addition of AMR Research’s experienced sales team should enhance Gartner's ability to further penetrate the vast market opportunity for syndicated research. The combination is also expected to drive operational efficiencies and cost savings.

Gene Hall, Gartner's chief executive officer, said, "AMR Research is an excellent strategic fit for Gartner. The firm is the market leader for research related to supply chain management, which is inextricably linked to IT and has become a central and growing issue for many organizations. We expect the acquisition to give us immediate presence in this market and the ability to generate substantial synergies by selling AMR Research products to Gartner clients and Gartner products to AMR Research clients. The addition of AMR Research’s team of approximately 40 research analysts and 45 sales executives should enable us to offer expanded resources to our clients and increase our opportunities for growth."

The Advisory Board Company and HIMSS Analytics to Collaborate to Solve Health Care IT Challenges

New Suite of Services will Combine HIMSS Analytics’ Deep IT Knowledge and Database with the Advisory Board’s Best Practice Operational and Clinical Expertise

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- (March 1, 2010) – The Advisory Board Company and HIMSS Analytics™ LLC are collaborating to provide a new level of business-oriented information technology (IT) research to health care executives and IT leaders.  Through this affiliation, data from the HIMSS Analytics™ Database will be provided to The Advisory Board Company as the foundation for new and expanded services and projects.

Both organizations recognize that hospitals and health systems now face mounting pressures to reach the full potential of their IT systems and drive broad performance improvement for their institutions. This initiative will help IT professionals meet these challenges by pairing HIMSS Analytics’ deep IT knowledge and rich database with the Advisory Board’s best practice operational and clinical expertise. David E. Garets, President and Chief Executive Officer of HIMSS Analytics, and Mike Davis, Executive Vice President of HIMSS Analytics, will leave HIMSS Analytics at the end of March to join The Advisory Board Company and lead the effort.

“We are thrilled to tap into the deep data resources of HIMSS Analytics,” said Robert Musslewhite, Chief Executive Officer of The Advisory Board Company. “CIOs across our 2,600+ hospital and health system members face key challenges in change management, performance improvement, and transparency.  Together with HIMSS Analytics data, we will provide CIOs and other executives with a new level of support as they work to implement key information systems and drive real gains for their institutions.”

With the proposed rules for meaningful use for the electronic health record now under review, internal and market forces are converging to require more integrated clinical models in order to deliver higher-value health care.  In this context, innovative workflow processes and clinical practice, built upon sound IT choices and strong implementation execution, are critical to future hospital and health system success.  The Advisory Board Company, together with HIMSS Analytics data, will enable hospital and health systems to improve technology adoption by physicians and other important stakeholders, leverage the technology to impact care delivery, and drive continued value from IT investments.

“The addition of HIMSS Analytics’ data on IT processes and environments, costs and management metrics, and purchasing decisions will greatly enrich the work that we do with our member CIOs,” said Musslewhite. “This initiative also provides an outstanding opportunity for us to serve the broader executive suite in a more in-depth way on technology issues that are strategically important to the future success of their institutions.  We are particularly excited about the IT knowledge and expertise that Dave and Mike bring to the Advisory Board.  This is a winning combination, and I am confident that it will create tremendous value for our members and for all the additional members who come on board to take advantage of this work.”

“Successful IT choices require deep expertise on the environment in which the system will operate,” said H. Stephen Lieber, President and CEO of Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). “The Advisory Board’s nuanced understanding of best practices in the clinical and operational setting of hospitals provides a critical perspective to IT leaders.  For our part, HIMSS Analytics is excited about this new chapter in our work.  Together, HIMSS Analytics and the Advisory Board will support IT users, business users, and clinical users across the full project planning and implementation cycle to yield successful IT projects that drive real returns.  We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”

For more information or to register for The Advisory Board Company’s Web conference on the new suite of services for health care IT leaders, visit www.advisory.com/public/cio.

About The Advisory Board Company

The Advisory Board Company provides best practices research, analysis, executive education and leadership development, software tools, and installation support services primarily to the health care industry, focusing on business strategy, operations, and general management issues. The Company provides best practices and research through discrete programs to a membership of approximately 2,800 organizations, including leading hospitals, health systems, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, health care insurers, medical device companies, colleges, universities, and other education institutions. Members of each program are typically charged a fixed annual fee and have access to an integrated set of services that may include best practice research studies, executive education seminars, customized research briefs, web-based access to the program’s content database, and software tools.

About HIMSS Analytics

HIMSS Analytics is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). HIMSS Analytics collects and analyzes healthcare information related to IT processes and environments, products, IS department composition and costs, IS department management metrics, healthcare trends and purchase-related decisions. HIMSS Analytics delivers high quality products, services and analytical expertise to healthcare delivery organizations, healthcare IT companies, state governments, financial companies, pharmaceutical companies, and consulting firms. Visit www.himssanalytics.org for more information.

A Longwoods Publishing working relationship with HIMSS Analytics will survive this collaboration.  

CGI Selected by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for Health Enterprise Content Management

Fairfax, Virginia; Toronto, Ontario, February 23, 2010 - CGI Group, Inc. (NYSE: GIB; TSX: GIB.A), today announced it signed a multi-year, $2.2 million contract with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario (Sunnybrook).  CGI will implement its Sovera®, enterprise content management and workflow automation solution while providing ongoing software maintenance and support services to the system’s users.

CGI’s Sovera complete digital records management system provides secure, instant access to patient information enterprise-wide which results in increased staff productivity, improved customer service, and enhanced patient care.  Built on two award-winning platforms, IBM Enterprise Content Management and Datacap Taskmaster for Capture and Forms Processing, Sovera automates medical records workflow processes including: medical coding, chart review, analysis and completion, and records release.

Sunnybrook comprises 3 campuses with 10,000 staff, physicians and volunteers who serve more than one million patients each year.  Over the last 60 years, Sunnybrook has evolved from its original role as a Veterans’ hospital into a centre of excellence in patient care, education and research.

“We chose CGI’s Sovera solution after a comprehensive market search and a review of CGI’s and Sovera’s integration capabilities,” said Sam Marafioti, CIO of Sunnybrook.  “We needed a solution that met our technical and business objectives to enhance clinical productivity and the effectiveness of our clinical staff, while continuing quality of care and ensuring patient safety.”

“We are very pleased to partner with Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre to implement our content management solution in their medical records area” said Steve Bock, Director of the Healthcare Solutions Group at CGI.  “Sovera will help Sunnybrook meet their business goals and objectives of reducing costs, improving efficiencies, and creating a paperless environment while maintaining their outstanding standard for patient care.”

CGI in Healthcare

CGI provides a full suite of health IT solutions with an emphasis on electronic medical records (EMR), health information exchange (HIE), quality initiatives and operational efficiency improvements. Website:  www.cgi.com/healthcare.

 

About CGI

Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is an information technology and business process services firm. CGI and its affiliated companies employ approximately 26,000 professionals. CGI provides end-to-end IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific as well as from centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. As at December 31, 2009, CGI's order backlog was $11.4 billion. CGI shares are listed on the NYSE (GIB) and the TSX (GIB.A) and are included in the S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website: www.cgi.com.

Arbitrator Rules in MGEU's Favour on HCSS Part-Time Vacation Entitlement

February 5, 2010

In December, an arbitration was held on the issue of vacation for part-time employees in Health Care Support Services. The MGEU is pleased to announce that the arbitrator’s decision, which was handed down today, upheld the MGEU’s position in its entirety.

 

The arbitrator ruled that the language proposed by the Union will become part of the collective agreement. The decision confirms that part-time employees’ actual vacation entitlement will be based on years of service and not pro-rated on an employee’s EFT.

 

The new language (which was designed to fit into the South Eastman collective agreement and will have to be modified to fit into some of the other MGEU agreements) will read as follows:

 

20:05 Delete in its entirety and replace with the following:

 

20:05 Annual Vacations

(a) Entitlement to Vacation Pay
Part-time employees shall earn and accrue entitlement to vacation pay on a pro-rata basis in accordance with the following formula:
 

Hours Paid at Regular Rate/ Full-time Hours = Pro-rating factor
 

[Example of Entitlement to Vacation Pay:

Employee A is a part-time employee, listed as .5EFT. In the previous year, A worked more than .5 of the full-time hours, and in fact worked 1410 hours. A's entitlement to vacation pay would be based on a pro-rating factor of:

1410/2015 = .7 pro-rating factor]

 

(b) Entitlement to Vacation Time
Actual entitlement to vacation time for part-time employees shall be based on years of service as provided for in Article 16:03.

 

[Example of Entitlement to Vacation Time: Employee A is in his/her 5th year of employment. Employee A is entitled to 20 working days per year of vacation time. For greater certainty, the term "working days" means days on which Employee A is regularly scheduled to work.]
 

(c) Entitlement to Receive Vacation Pay and Vacation Time
(i) Initial Selection of Vacation Time
Part-time employees shall have an initial right to indicate their preference to dates on the basis of the procedure set out at Article 16:05. During this initial procedure for vacation selection, part-time employees shall be allowed to indicate their preference up to a maximum on the basis of the pro the following formula:
 

Pro-rating factor x entitlement to vacation time = number of vacation days (working days)
 

[Example of Initial Selection: During the initial selection procedure set out at Article 16:05, Employee A shall have the right to indicate in writing his/her preference as to the following maximum number of vacation dates:
 

.7 x 20 = 14 working days]
 

(ii) Selecting the Balance of the Vacation Time
After the initial selection set out in sub-section (i) above has been completed, the selection of the balance of vacation time shall be at the option of the part-time employee but shall be governed by the last sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 16:05.
 

[Example of Selecting the Balance of Vacation Time:
Employee A would have the option to select the following number of working days in order to exhaust his/her vacation time entitlement:

 

.3 x 20 = 6 working days
 

Alternate Example: In the event that Employee A chose to select 12 working days of vacation time in the initial selection, Employee A would have the option to later select up to 8 working days in order to exhaust his/her vacation time entitlement.]
 

(iii) Operational Requirements
The provisions of Article 16:05 dealing with operational requirements apply equally to the selection procedures set out in sub-sections (i) and (ii) above.
 

(iv) Receipt of Vacation Pay
Unless a part-time employee requests to be paid in accordance with one of the four options set out below, and to the extent that he or she still has unused vacation pay, a parttime employee shall be paid his or her regular rate of pay for the number of hours he or she was scheduled to work on the working day taken as vacation time. An employee may choose to request to receive vacation pay in accordance with the one of the four options:
 

(a) partial pay divided equally over his/her entire vacation time entitlement; or
 

(b) full pay for vacation days up to such point as his or her vacation pay is exhausted; or

 

(c) a combination of (a) or (b) above; or

 

(d) partial or full vacation pay as set out above for a portion of the vacation time and the balance of vacation pay in a lump sum regardless of whether the part-time employee intends to take any unused vacation time at a future date in the vacation year.

 

20:06 Delete

Wound care teleassistance: unique in Canada

February 17, 2010 (Sherbrooke, QC) – A new service is being launched today: wound care teleassistance, also known as téléassistance en soins de plaies (TASP). With this service a nurse can use a camera to film her patient’s wound, while at the same time an expert nurse in another institution can receive the images. They can then hold an online discussion to evaluate the patient’s wound and plan treatment. TASP increases access to care, allows treatment of patients in their own communities, reduces visits to emergency centres and can prevent chronic wound complications. Because it is based both on a clinical network of specially trained nurses and standardized methods, TASP is unique in Canada.

TASP is a project of the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé de Sherbrooke (RUIS), a network that covers an area that includes Estrie, part of Montérégie and Centre-du-Québec. Expert nurses from the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) were the first to provide real-time support via remote access to their colleagues from the Estrie health and social services centres (CSSS). Ten expert nurses distributed among the different RUIS institutions will soon be able to coach other nurses located in more than 70 points of service.

“Our institution was the first in Estrie to offer a virtual wound care clinic linked to the CHUS professional team. Our patients were pleasantly surprised and satisfied with the live service they received. They are happy they can stay in their community and have easy access to specialized services. In fact, this new technology will be implemented this spring in our Lambton point of service and a little later, during the year, at the St. Ludger point of service,” Pierre Latulippe, executive director of CSSS du Granit, said.

An expanded role for nurses

The expert nurses and about 80 other nurses from RUIS’s CSSS will be specially trained in the virtual clinic technology and will all adopt the same wound care methods. Two CHUS nurses developed the chronic wound care frame of reference, Aidez-moi, s’il-vous-« plaie »!, a training tool that will be used throughout the RUIS. Standardization of care involves 35 hours of training and continuing education through the virtual network.

“Wound care teleassistance expands the role of nurses, because the service depends on their expertise. They themselves will be able to establish a treatment plan, provide care, perform specialized techniques and monitor patients suffering from pressure ulcers, lower limb ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers and other complex chronic wounds. These activities increase their autonomy and their leeway to make decisions. This is a new way of sharing fields of professional practice,” Céline Gervais, director of nursing and the CHUS, pointed out. Wound care teleassistance was made possible thanks to a partnership with the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS) and Canada Health Infoway, which invested nearly $4 million in the project. The service is supported by a massive IT structure that uses wireless technology. The sound and images are sent securely and confidentially via the MSSS’s private telecommunications network, known as the Réseau de télécommunications sociosanitaire (RTSS). This totally secure network guarantees data integrity and confidentiality.

“Wound care is often complex and there are few specialized nurses in this field. The wound care teleassistance project will ensure access to state-of-the-art treatment for the population within the territory of the RUIS de l’Université de Sherbrooke. It will also permit home care for patients who otherwise would have had to stay in the hospital for days, even weeks,” said Dr. Michel A. Bureau, executive director with the Direction générale des services de santé et de médecine universitaire of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

"Technological innovations, such as teleassistance, are bringing specialized care to patients and communities in need,” said Louise Beauchesne, executive regional director, Quebec, Canada Health Infoway. “The wound care teleassistance program in Quebec is another example of how investments in electronic health record systems is improving access to care when patients need it most.”

“Telehealth is the way of the future, because it facilitates access to services, supports regional autonomy and reduces professional isolation. RUIS de l’Université de Sherbrooke is therefore extremely proud of the implementation of wound care teleassistance. All the partners spared no effort and we take our hats off to them. No doubt in the near future, other telehealth services will be rolled out in our territory, in the primary interest of the patient,” concluded Patricia Gauthier, executive director of the CHUS and president of RUIS de l’Université de Sherbrooke.

About RUIS de l’Université de Sherbrooke

In 2003, the MSSS divided Québec into four integrated university health networks (RUIS), each attached to a Faculty of Medicine (Sherbrooke, McGill, Montréal and Laval). The objective was to assure the regions of support in the organizing and continuity of care and services as well as to give tangible support to specialized care and training activities, and academic renewal. Within the clinical context, RUIS de l’Université de Sherbrooke covers the areas of Estrie, part of Montérégie and Centre-du-Québec. This is why CHUS, the main partner of the Université de Sherbrooke, is called upon to serve nearly one million people for certain specialized forms of care.

Photos and video at: http://www.chus.qc.ca/Fr/profetablis/teleassistance-soins-plaies.asp

- 30 -

For more information:
Colette Pellerin
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke
819 346-1110 extension 29035
cpellerin.chus@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

Dan Strasbourg
Director, Corporate Communications
Canada Health Infoway
Tel: (416) 595-3424
dstrasbourg@infoway-inforoute.ca

Deaths related to narcotic pain relievers have doubled since 1991: Study

Introduction of OxyContin linked to a five-fold increase in deaths TORONTO, December 7, 2009 - Deaths from opioid use in Ontario have doubled—from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004—according to a new study led by physicians at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto.

Researchers also found that the addition of a long-acting form of oxycodone (OxyContin) to the province's drug formulary in January 2000 corresponded with a five-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths. "Many doctors are aware that prescription opioids can have fatal side effects by depressing breathing and decreasing level of consciousness," explains lead author Dr. Irfan Dhalla, a physician at St. Michael's Hospital. "But we suspect most will be surprised to learn just how many deaths occur each year in Ontario from prescription opioids."

Opioids, also known as narcotic pain relievers, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in Canada. They are used to treat people with moderate-to-severe acute or chronic pain.

The researchers manually reviewed nearly 7,100 files at the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario. They then linked these files with provincial data on physician visits and medication prescribing. They also analyzed data from IMS Health Canada—an organization that tracks the sales of prescription drugs.

Here are the researchers' key findings:

• Prescriptions for oxycodone rose by more than 850 per cent during the study period. This increase was much larger than for any other opioid. Oxycodone accounted for about one-third of the almost 7.2 million prescriptions for opioids dispensed in Ontario in 2006.
• The increase in deaths was especially pronounced after OxyContin was added to the provincial drug benefit plan in 2000. Over the next five years, deaths related to any opioid increased by 41 per cent, and the number of deaths related to oxycodone (the active ingredient in OxyContin) rose fivefold.
• Deaths from prescription opioids in Ontario far outnumbered those from heroin.
• Most opioid-related fatalities (54 per cent) were accidental. The manner of death was undetermined in 22 per cent of cases and deemed to be suicide in 24 per cent.
• Most people whose deaths involved an opioid had visited a doctor and received a prescription for the drug in the month before they died.

"These findings highlight the tremendous societal burden of opioid-related morbidity and mortality and morbidity" says the study's co-author Dr. David Juurlink, a senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and a staff physician at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. "Patients and doctors may not fully appreciate the potential danger of these drugs, particularly when they are taken in combination with other sedating drugs or alcohol."

Based on the study findings for Ontario, the estimated annual national incidence of opioid-related deaths in 2004 (27.2 deaths per million population) came somewhere between the incidence of death from HIV infection (12 deaths per million) and the incidence of death from sepsis, or severe infection (40 deaths per million).

To reduce the number of deaths related to opioid prescriptions, the researchers suggest the creation of real-time electronic databases accessible to physicians and pharmacists. This would make it harder for people to obtain opioids improperly from multiple doctors or pharmacies and easier for health care providers to predict and prevent potentially dangerous drug interactions. The researchers also call for more and better education about the risks of opioid use and suggest greater restrictions on opioid prescribing.

. . .

About opioids and oxycodone
Opioids, also known as narcotic pain relievers, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in Canada. They are used to treat people with moderate-to-severe acute or chronic pain. Opioids have many side effects, and can cause death by depressing breathing and decreasing consciousness.


OxyContin was introduced onto the public drug formulary in Ontario in 2000. The public formulary lists drugs that the province has agreed to pay for under its drug benefits plan.

In March of 2007 the report of the Methadone Maintenance Treatment Practices Task Force warned that:

• Use of other drugs – such as Oxycontin – is alarming, especially the increasing use of prescription drugs in First Nations communities.
• It is too easy to access drugs on the Internet, in schoolyards and in physicians’ offices.
• It is common knowledge that some physicians overprescribe.
• There is a need for a provincial drug strategy.

Contact: Julie Saccone
sacconej@smh.toronto.on.ca
416-864-5047
St. Michael's Hospital