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Texas Network Coalition Expands Reach to Rural Home Healthcare Agencies Using CyberCare System
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 16, 2001--CyberCare, Inc. (Nasdaq:CYBR - news) today announced that Health Access and Alert Network of Texas (HAANet), a statewide secure network sponsored by the Texas Rural Hospital Telecommunications Alliance (TRHTA) and the Texas Association of Local Health Officials (TALHO), has selected the CyberCare System(TM) as its telehomecare solution, helping to broaden the network's outreach to rural home healthcare agencies.
HAANet connects to facilities throughout the state and has been selected to function as the Health Alert Network for Texas, a Center for Disease Control (CDC) sponsored program to alert providers of serious public health problems. The Network will use funds provided by a Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Board (TIFB) grant to purchase, as part of the program, CyberCare products and services in order to expand its network applications to include remote patient monitoring for rural home healthcare agencies.
Allowing rural home healthcare nurses to see approximately 15-25 patients per day, the CyberCare System, which consists of the Electronic Housecall® (EHC(TM)) family of products, the CyberCare 24 Network(TM), and the Cyber HealthManager(TM), will initially be installed in multiple locations throughout Texas. The initial CyberCare package will consist of a clinic base station with specialized care management software including patient assessment, care plan, visit scheduler, a patient video unit with flat touch screen monitor, and health monitoring peripherals for blood pressure, weight, blood glucose and oxygen levels, and temperature. Where video is not needed, a data-gathering patient unit with a glucometer, weight scale and blood pressure cuff will be used. All patient units are connected over standard phone lines to the clinic where the base station will connect to the HAANet for backup, service and data management.
Robert M. Brecht, Ph.D., has spent the last three years developing HAANet's vision. His company, E-Health Solutions, Inc., is responsible for implementing and managing the network and services over it.
``It is our vision to bring services of real value to rural healthcare providers and the patients they serve with the goal of lowering the cost of care while providing significant opportunities for expanded or improved health care,'' Brecht said. ``E-Health Solutions will work with CyberCare and the participating agencies to determine an appropriate `practice model' for telehomecare for rural home health and hospice agencies.''
According to Michael Lemnitzer, CyberCare's vice president of business development, rural areas have historically had limited access regarding ongoing quality healthcare.
``HAANet clearly sees the cost-saving and improved care benefits of using Internet technology to increase access in rural settings,'' Lemnitzer said. ``By creating this secure network, accessible to a large number of patients, providers and payors, we're able to improve the overall quality of rural healthcare services and further our initiatives to assist the home healthcare industry.''
About CyberCare, Inc.
CyberCare, Inc. is a network-based telehealth solutions company improving the delivery of care through its Internet-based technology. CyberCare creates a live, interactive community that incorporates all members of the care team in the healthcare delivery process, resulting in cost reduction and improvement in the quality of patient care. Utilizing patented technology for remote monitoring and real-time interactive communications between chronically ill patients and their providers, CyberCare's Electronic HouseCall® System allows for effective and efficient data collection, case management and personal interaction. Headquartered in Boynton Beach, Fla., CyberCare also has physical, occupational and speech therapy businesses and an institutional pharmacy business. Visit CyberCare's Web site at cyber-care.net.
About Health Access and Alert Network (HAANet)
HAANet, a statewide network sponsored by the Texas Rural Hospital Telecommunications Alliance (www.trhta.net) and the Texas Association of Local Health Officials, was designed and implemented by E-Health Solutions, Inc. which administers HAANet on their behalf. The Cisco-powered network connects several hundred facilities in Texas and is designed to be fully HIPAA compliant. Facilities on the network get access to the Internet, email, Web hosting, long distance bypass utilizing voice-over-IP (VoIP) network, monitoring, help desk, videoconferencing and access to healthcare resources and information. HAANet is currently implementing the Texas Health Alert Network as part of its service responsibility and is adding 64 local health departments to the network. HAANet also plans a significant expansion of telemedicine, distance education and teleradiology implementation in 2002
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements which are not historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks and uncertainties including but not limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future financial results, additional financing requirements, development of new products, product acceptance and effectiveness, government approval processes, the impact of competitive products or pricing, technological changes, the effect of economic conditions and other uncertainties detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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