NRC-IRAP Funds the Latest Innovation from PharmaTrust™ in Pharmacy Medication Management Systems
Tony Clement, Federal Industry Minister, announced today a contribution agreement of up to $300,000 in funding for PharmaTrust™ from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). PharmaTrust™ is an Oakville based company developing innovations in remote healthcare technologies and services. The funding will enable the development of MedHome™, a personal medication management system that addresses the critical issue of medication compliance, helping patients safely and effectively manage their own medications.
“We are pleased to be able to support the inventive work of PharmaTrust in remote healthcare technologies”, said Minister Clement. “Partnering with organizations like PharmaTrust to foster the development of innovative technologies creates valuable opportunities for Canadian business, both at home and abroad.”
PharmaTrust™ is the creator and developer of the MedCentre™, which makes use of advanced robotics, scanning and video-conference technology, to connect individuals in real-time to a pharmacist in another location. In 2009, NRC-IRAP announced a $1.5 million contribution to support the development of telepharmacy, primary care platform and advanced manufacturing techniques and technologies by PharmaTrust™. The MedHome™ will lever the telepharmacy platform previously developed by PharmaTrust™ to manage and monitor patient drug therapy compliance and adherence.
“When patients receive multiple medications, they face an increased risk of complications which arise due to non-compliance and adherence to their medication orders,” said Don Waugh, CEO of PharmaTrust™. “Many individuals have trouble properly following their medication schedule as directed by their physician.” Studies indicate that medication non-adherence among older adults is a prevalent and costly problem; approximately one half have problems following their prescribed medication regimen, and more than 10% of hospital admissions are the result of medication non-adherence.”1
The $300,000 contribution from NRC-IRAP will support the software and engineering development activities required to deliver a working prototype of MedHome™.
Federal funding for at-home drug dispenser
The Oakville manufacturer of remote healthcare technologies has received funding from Ottawa for the development of a new product, which the company president said should reach the commercial trial stage this summer.
PharmaTrust received $300,000 from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP).
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement announced the funding at the PharmaTrust facility on Friday, Jan. 21. He was joined by Oakville MP Terence Young.
“Throughout its growth and development PharmaTrust has maintained important ties with the NRC, which was only too happy to work with these creative and results-oriented individuals,” Clement said in a speech.
“It’s your dedication, your entrepreneurship in developing industry leading and internationally recognized products that is exactly what our government looks for when partnering with Canadian businesses.”
PharmaTrust previously received $1.5 million from IRAP for MedCentre – a drug-dispensing machine for pharmacies. It has now developed the MedHome unit — a small medicine-dispensing device that can go out to a patient’s home.
The MedHome unit is able to dispense medical doses personalized to the patient at pre-set times and sends out reminders, which is especially effective for people with dementia.
The technology also includes an Internet connectable monitoring system and together with a monitoring bracelet it can send medical information about the patient to a health care provider such as a physician or pharmacist.
In addition, patients, such as those suffering from mental health issues, can fill out a questionnaire on a touch screen monitor that could help indicate to a health care professional if there is anything wrong with the patient.
Another feature requires the pushing of a button after the medicine is taken. If the button is not pushed, a message is sent to the patient’s caretaker.
PharmaTrust president, chief operating officer and co-founder Peter Suma said the device will be in commercial trials by July 1. Furthermore, the new federal money, along with private investments, will create six high-tech jobs for the company. The company, which was founded five years ago, currently employs about 120 personnel.
Clement told the gathering the funding is part of the Canadian government’s overall commitment to the health and medical sector, which is part of an even broader picture of a science and technology strategy launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007.
“This company is dedicated to developing new remote health care technologies and services and is doing a fantastic job with it,” Young said.
He said the federal funding to the company will be returned to Canadian taxpayers many times through its job creation, business taxes and more.
During a tour of the facility, Clement got a personal demonstration of the MedCentre device. However, instead of receiving prescription medication, the demo unit dispensed a box of Smarties.
Speaking to the gathering, company CEO and co-founder Don Waugh, thanked the government for its continued support.
“We are pleased you could all come and see first hand what we’ve been able to accomplish with the government’s initial investment of $1.5 million in October 2009 that supported the development of the PharmaTrust MedCentre,” Waugh said.
“Since then, we have grown significantly and expanded upon our success to develop new applications and explore the possibility of remote health care technologies throughout the patient’s journey.”
The MedHome unit is part of that expansion.
In an interview after the tour, Suma said the MedHome unit will cost less than $200. However, he expects the costs to individual patients to be lower or even completely absorbed by a pharmacy, giving the example of a wireless provider selling a cell phone to a customer with a contract for much less than its cost. In a similar fashion, he said the device could used as part of a pharmacy’s business model to keep customer loyalty.
Suma said about 35 per cent of all long-term care facility admissions are a result of seniors unable to manage their medication consumption. He said this device won’t solve the problem for everyone, but it will be a solution for some.
“Now those 35 per cent of people have a choice. It’s not for all of them, but for some portion of them the choice will be now: ‘I can stay in my home, get management here, anytime I need anything, anytime I don’t feel well I press the button’ and bang instant video conferencing with your pharmacist who has all your data.”
He said the unit also check a person’s blood pressure and be transmitted to a health care professional. The machine could also similarly detect a health problem that a patient may not even be aware of.
PharmaTrust was founded five years ago for the creation of the MedCentre device. It can house more than 2,000 types of drugs and similarly to a automated banking machine, it is operational non-stop.
“The whole advantage to the public is they are open 24 hours, wherever they are,” Suma said.
To get medication, a patient inserts the prescription paper into the machine and is then video conferenced with a live pharmacist. The pharmacist can converse with the patient, and the machine has various fraud prevention mechanisms. The entire dispensing process is controlled remotely by the pharmacist.
Currently, only four of the MedCentre units are in service in Toronto area hospitals. They are served by a team of 10 pharmacists round-the-clock, who work out of the Oakville facility. However, the technology is not limited to being served only by PharmaTrust pharmacists.
Current laws prohibit the distribution of the machines because they can operate under hospital and physician law, but not yet under pharmacy law. However, Suma has big plans for the machines, saying they will be all over Ontario after the pharmacy law is changed. He believes this will occur in a few months.
“Until the pharmacy law is changed, you can’t service the public in a remote town, outside of the clinic or when the clinic is closed. The real benefit of this technology can’t be explored until this law is changed,” he said.
Suma said PharmaTrust is the largest Angel-funded company in Canada, receiving $30 million from individuals. This does not include funding it received from corporate funding.