TELUS Health to Support Newfoundland and Labrador in Expansion of the Newfoundland and Labrador Electronic Health ...

MONTREAL , May 30, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS Health today announced it has signed an agreement with the Newfoundland & Labrador Centre for Health Information (the Centre) to support the next phase in the province's deployment of an interoperable Electronic Health Record (iEHR).

The Centre's interoperable Electronic Health Record/Labs (iEHR/Labs) program is the next phase in Newfoundland & Labrador's implementation of an iEHR and will make important health information available to clinicians across the province. This new agreement continues the working relationship developed between the Centre and TELUS Health, which drew extensively on TELUS' technology capability to begin deploying the Pharmacy Network. The Pharmacy Network project delivered a core component of an EHR with the Health Information Access Layer (HIAL), in addition to a drug repository that connects the community pharmacies. The iEHR/Labs program will leverage this technology to support the additional iEHR information domains and components that will be implemented through this next phase.

"We are extremely pleased to continue our successful relationship with the Centre and work with the province of Newfoundland & Labrador on such an important initiative," says Glenn De Roy, vice president of Health Delivery Solutions for TELUS Health Solutions. "Deploying iEHR will give authorized health professionals secure, real-time access to critical health information, ensuring that Newfoundlanders receive better, more efficient care delivery."

In 2009, the Centre began deploying the Pharmacy Network, which connects pharmacies with a central, province-wide Drug Information System. Since then, more than 75 pharmacies have joined, covering more than 185,000 patients (about 34% of the province's population). The network currently contains 2.9 million medication dispense records, a figure which is increasing daily. More importantly, there have been more than 27,000 instances of shared information, meaning a pharmacist had access to additional information in delivering care to their client.

Designed and created by TELUS Health to meet Canada Health Infoway EHR Blueprint specifications, the HIAL, as a core component of the NL EHR, manages interactions between clinical systems (pharmacy management systems, hospital information system, physician EMRs, etc.), provincial repositories (drug, lab, shared health records, etc.) and provincial registries (client, provider, location and user). In addition to providing the first version of the HIAL contained within the Pharmacy Network, TELUS Health also provided the provincial Drug Information System, a medication management portal and a data warehouse. Since 2009, TELUS Health has also worked in partnership with the Centre in supporting the Pharmacy Network's production environment, through its managed services offering.

As part of the iEHR/Labs program, TELUS Health will extend HIAL services to include support for additional HL7 messages to support Lab and Shared Health Record interactions. A service will be added to manage the clinical terminologies associated with the expanded set of health information.  TELUS Health will also leverage its strategic relationship with HIPAAT to integrate HIPAAT's leading Privacy eSuite consent management service into the HIAL, which will add patient-centered privacy protection to all healthcare information. Committed to industry standards, TELUS Health will continue to align the solution to Canada Health Infoway's vision and standards.

TELUS Health will work with the Centre and other members of the project team to begin deployment of the new technology in 2013.

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. Our 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.

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IWK Health Centre Foundation announced as 2012 TELUS World Skins Game Charity

Annual golf tradition to support the funding of critical health needs of children, women and families in Maritime Canada

HALIFAX , May 3, 2012 /CNW/ - The IWK Health Centre Foundation has been selected as the benefiting charity for the 2012 TELUS World Skins Game taking place on Monday, July 30 and Tuesday, July 31 at the Glen Arbour Golf Course in Halifax , Nova Scotia. The funds raised from the event will go to the IWK Health Centre, which provides critical and specialized care to women, children and families throughout the Maritimes.

"On behalf of the IWK Health Centre Foundation, I'm honoured to thank TELUS for generously supporting the IWK," said Jennifer Gillivan, president and CEO of the IWK Health Centre Foundation. "TELUS is an amazing donor and we so appreciate its commitment in making the IWK a world-class centre of excellence for Maritime children, women, and families."

"As part of TELUS' ongoing commitment to 'give where we live', and the TELUS World Skins Game's long-standing tradition of benefiting local charities, we are pleased to support the IWK Health Centre Foundation and help maritime families receive the quality care they need," said Gen. (Ret.) Rick Hillier , Chair of the TELUS Atlantic Canada Community Board. "TELUS' gift will fund essential programs to ensure the IWK provides specialized health care right here at home in the Maritimes."

The TELUS World Skins Game is always a highlight of the Canadian summer sporting schedule for the country's most passionate golf fans, as well as the community that hosts it. Including corporate and team member donations, more than $10.4 million has been given to a wide variety of important causes across Canada as a result of the TELUS World Skins Game since 2001.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada , with $10.4 billion of annual revenue and 12.7 million customer connections including 7.3 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 500,000 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 www.telus.com.

About IWK Health Centre Foundation

The IWK Health Centre Foundation helps sustain excellence in specialized care at the IWK for all Maritime families. Last year, generous donors contributed over $10 million to excellence in specialized care at the IWK, including neonatal and pediatric intensive care, women's health and mental health services for children and youth. Funds raised also support world-renowned researchers and the purchase of modernized technology and equipment. Together with donors, the IWK Foundation supported more than 16,000 inpatient visits and nearly 300,000 outpatient and emergency room visits in one year. Visit iwkfoundation.org for more information.

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TELUS Health Solutions launches new Canadian health reference portal, myhealthreference.com

88 per cent of Canadians are looking for online health information with Canadian references, yet 72 per cent concerned about reliability*

MONTREAL , Jan. 19, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS is making access to reliable, verified Canadian healthcare information online a snap with myhealthreference.com. myhealthreference.com, a new health reference internet portal, is designed to help Canadians find the relevant information and tools they need to take better care of their health and the health of their loved ones.

A recent national poll by Vision Critical found 72 per cent of Canadians are concerned with the reliability of healthcare information they find online, yet 53 per cent still use the Internet as their primary health information reference.

"Technology has empowered us with convenient, fast access to health information. Yet much of the online information is unverified. myhealthreference.com will allow Canadians to quickly find credible, reliable and expert-reviewed health information for themselves and their families," said Paul Lepage , senior vice-president, TELUS Health Solutions.

With 66 per cent of Canadians seeking a single point for online health information, the new site will deliver current content, reviewed articles and specialized functions to make the consumer experience "future friendly".

The new site includes access to:

Web and mobile tools such as a symptom checker, self-assessment modules, healthy habits guides and smoking cessation programs Powerful search feature that "learns" from user trends and health news to deliver relevant, credible content to returning visitors Reliable reference content and news from trusted Canadian sources covering health topics from A to Z Advice from physicians, pharmacists, naturopaths and nutritionists, as well as information to find specialized local resources

The Vision Critical survey also reveals:

90 per cent of women identified themselves as the primary health seekers in the family 70 per cent of mothers first look to the Internet to gather health advice for their children 94 per cent of mothers prefer a website with information from a Canadian reference 66 per cent of Canadians have used online health information for positive results 25 per cent of Quebecers do not have a family physician. The highest rate from all provinces surveyed (17% BC, 14% AB, 8% MB/SK, 10% ON, 13% ATL) 33 per cent of Canadians over 55 say it's difficult to find dietary tips for specific chronic health conditions

To explore the new site go to www.myhealthreference.com.

*The Vision Critical poll of 1,500 Canadians was conducted from December 19 to December 22, 2011 .

About TELUS Health Solutions
TELUS Health Solutions is a leader in telehealth, electronic health records, remote patient monitoring, mobile home and community care, consumer health, benefits management and pharmacy management. Our solutions give health authorities, providers, primary care physicians, patients and consumers the power to enhance decision making and improve outcomes for Canadians. TELUS Health Solutions is transforming how information is used across the continuum of care from hospital to home with solutions that foster collaboration, drive prevention and empower care teams and patients. TELUS Health Solutions is Canada's leading Healthcare IT Company as cited by the Branham Group for five years and for being honoured as the ITAC Health Company of the Year (2008) and Health Transformation Company of the Year (2009). For more information about TELUS Health Solutions, please visit www.telushealth.com and www.telushealthspace.com.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada , with $10.3 billion of annual revenue and 12.6 million customer connections including 7.2 million wireless subscribers, 3.6 million wireline network access lines, 1.3 million Internet subscribers and more than 450,000 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 $245 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.1 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.

Survey Methodology
From December 19 to December 22, 2011 , Vision Critical conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 1,500 Canadians who are Vision Critical Forum panel members. Individuals were sampled according to Census data to be representative of the Canadian national adult population. The full dataset has been statistically weighted according to the most current gender, age, region (and in Quebec , language) Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada . The margin of error is ±2.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

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