TELUS signs rights agreement for MyChart technology platform from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

My Chart is foundation for a personal health record management solution for patients

Toronto, ON – TELUS today announced it has acquired the intellectual property rights for MyChart, Sunnybrook Health Sciences’ innovative electronic continuity-of-care record system for patients.

Personal health records empower patients to manage their health by giving them immediate access to their personal health information as well as improving the information exchange between them and their healthcare providers. MyChart currently has over 1,000 users including doctors, clinicians, patients and family members.

Through MyChart’s user-friendly Website, patients can set up a personal and family health record, manage personal health information, and share relevant health information with multiple care providers and caregivers. Patients have access to test results, online questionnaires, appointment scheduling, emergency information, as well as links to educational information. Patients can also set up a personal health status diary, create care team contact lists, access videos on disease specific information, maintain medication history, and request electronic prescription refills.

This transaction is an important step in TELUS Health Solutions’ patient health record management strategy. The agreement encompasses a strategic alliance with Sunnybrook to ensure clinical workflow and patient needs are well addressed in the next generation of content and applications that will be used on the portal.

“Patients, especially those with chronic diseases, are demanding more say in the way their health is managed and MyChart was an innovative and well received response from us to achieve this goal,” said Barry McLellan, CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “We are very happy with the adoption rates that we have experienced since the inception of the solution and we know that it meets a real need for our patients and their families. Now we want to take this project to the next level and are thrilled to be working with TELUS Health Solutions to make it happen. We are convinced that our health care expertise combined with the technology capabilities of TELUS will allow for the development of additional robust functionality to serve an even larger audience as needs increase.”

“Our healthcare system is stressed by the more than five million Canadians who have chronic diseases,” said François Côté, President of TELUS Health Solutions. “We believe in investing in technologies that engage these patients as an equal partner in the management of their health situation. The creation of a common personal health record that can be used to monitor care while traveling, to manage family member records, to keep all care team providers, especially those in the community, up-to-date, will help transition our healthcare system to an entirely new model of care delivery, prevention and wellness.”

A recent Ipsos Reid/TELUS survey revealed that the majority of Canadians agree that better health outcomes can be achieved when healthcare professionals have access to information through technology. More than 90 percent of those surveyed agreed that efficiencies in the system could be created through additional exchange of information amongst care givers and medical professionals; 93 percent of Canadians surveyed said medical errors can be prevented by improving collaboration between medical professionals using technology.

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.

TELUS Health was named the 2008 Health Company of the Year by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC).

For more information, please visit telushealth.com.

About Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is transforming health care through the dedication of its more than 10,000 staff members who provide compassionate and innovative patient focused care. An internationally recognized leader in women’s health, academic research and education and an affiliation with the University of Toronto distinguishes Sunnybrook as one of Canada’s premier health sciences centres. Sunnybrook specializes in caring for newborns, adults and the elderly, treating and preventing cancer, heart problems, orthopedic and arthritic conditions and traumatic injuries.

TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $9.5 billion of annual revenue and 11.5 million customer connections including 6 million wireless subscribers, 4.3 million wireline network access lines and 1.2 million Internet subscribers. 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 $113 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 2.1 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