As healthcare providers implement the changeover to electronic medical records and meaningful use requirements, the opportunities seen by health IT companies aren’t restricted to US businesses. The Consulate General of Canada in Philadelphia is planning to launch a health IT accelerator at the beginning of next year. The goal? To help Canadian companies to chase a significantly larger market with the potential to grow US jobs in the process.
Vincent Finn, a Philadelphia-based trade commissioner with the Consulate General of Canada, said the initiative has the potential to create high-paid jobs. Canada has already established technology accelerators in San Francisco and New York and a clean energy accelerator in New York. The companies selected for the health IT accelerator at the University City Science Center will be among those Canadian companies participating in the upcoming eHealth summit scheduled for November 28.
Finn said not only could having Canadian health IT companies in Philadelphia mean more jobs, it could also offer partnership opportunities with other companies, boosting Philadelphia’s profile in the health IT industry. “We would like to see Philadelphia as a health IT innovation center.”
The US offers a huge growth opportunity for Canadian companies with a population substantially larger than its own. Israeli health IT companies have been courting the US market too.
Canada has a mature health IT market with half the country’s population possessing some form of digital medical record. The vast tracts of rural space separating Ontario’s population has led the region to develop the world’s largest telemedicine network, Finn said.
“One reason we’re interested in telemedicine is because it’s the best way to deal with chronic disease. It will help keep people in their homes longer, with a better standard of life.”
The accelerator will start with four to six companies with the potential to ramp up to 12. Although there are a couple of young startups, Finn said most of the companies are revenue generating businesses looking to establish a US based office for its marketing and sales division.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The companies presenting at the Canadian eHealth summit are:
Caristix The company’s HL7 software platform is intended to help hospitals and health IT vendors with the flow of healthcare data.
EDO Mobile Care has a mobile platform for caregivers in the Alzheimer’s disease space that helps them coordinate their responsibilities, track subjective clinical symptoms, and connect them to caregiver support communities.
Evinance provides an evidence-based clinical practice guideline platform that provides developers and clinicians at the point of care with access to the most current healthcare information.
Input Health develops and manages cross-platform health apps that collect track and interpret health data. It provides a control panel from which to build mobile apps without programming skills.
HandyMetrics has a tool for mobile devices that tracks hand hygiene to improve poor practices and combat the problem of hospital acquired infections.
Memotext specializes in behavior-based patient adherence and medication compliance solutions for pharmaceutical companies, payers and physicians.
Mensante provides a mental health program for patients and their physicians. Patients get a preliminary assessment. If the program determines that the patient is at high risk for a clinical disorder, they get a set of online tools to help patient and physician detect and treat the disorder and follow up with the patient every three weeks to track progress and recovery.
NexJ Systems provides a software platform that integrates clinical information with patient medical records and provides system to shared patient information through health information exchanges. It also provides patients with access to their health information.
Nightingale Informatix offers software for physicians and healthcare professionals ranging from electronic medical records, patient portals, scheduling, billing and workflow management.
Orpyx Medical Technologies uses a pressure-sensing insole and wristband that can detect and alert users when diabetic foot problems are worsening and treatment is needed. The system is designed to save on hospitalization costs for complications from diabetic foot ulcers.
TelASK Technologies provides an interactive voice response and email that system initiates follow-up on patient’s progress after hospital discharge or a clinic visit. It also screens patients for symptoms.
VitalSignals Enterprises has a remote adherence monitoring system reports and alerts when patients don’t take their medication or a change occurs in in their at-risk health status. It also has a remote monitor to track patients’ vital signs.
