Kitchener tech firm partners to help monitor outpatients
Cloud DX will help track vitals for thousands of people across Canada during COVID-19
KITCHENER — A Kitchener medical technology firm has partnered with a team of health care providers across Canada to provide remote monitoring support for thousands of outpatients during the pandemic.
Cloud DX has joined a new $1.4-million Digital Technology Supercluster project led by British Columbia-based digital health care company Curiato to deliver better support and care to outpatients, as well as people suffering from chronic illnesses and coronavirus.
“Up until today Curiato has really focused on the softer side of health care. They’re not regulated by Health Canada ... they’re really a social network,” said Cloud DX CEO Robert Kaul. “But some of these patients need remote monitoring and a higher level of care, and that’s where we come in — that’s our expertise.”
Cloud DX and its products are licensed by Health Canada and two groups of people will be monitored during the project; patients who have been released from surgery and sent home in an effort to preserve hospital beds and reduce costs, and people suffering from chronic health problems such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), congestive heart failure or diabetes.
The pandemic has made it difficult to ensure people in outpatient programs or who are suffering from chronic illnesses receive a high level of care and monitoring. Virtual monitoring of patients at home should help improve the situation.
“People in Stage 3 and Stage 4 of these conditions need a lot of care and oversight, and our solution is clinically proven to reduce the number of patients going back to hospital,” said Kaul, whose company launched in 2014 and now has 35 employees.
About 10 per cent of the 25,000 patients who will participate in the project will be elevated to Cloud DX’s level of monitoring. Many will be sent a kit with devices to measure vital stats such as blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, weight, and more to allow doctors or nurses to monitor their condition remotely. The kit is free and can be kept for the duration of the patient’s care.
Medical professionals can also send surveys to patients asking about their condition or how they’re feeling. They receive automated vital sign readings and are notified if there is a significant change in the patient’s condition, and communication is maintained via two-way video chat or text messaging.
“The key is high-quality care,” Kaul said.
The supercluster has partnered with health providers across the country, including the Interior Health Authority in British Columbia, the University Health Network in Toronto, the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management at the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Pacific Blue Cross and more.
Health professionals with these groups can prescribe patients to join the support network. Cloud DX is not partnered with any local hospitals or the Local Health Integration Network, Kaul said.
Funding for the cluster is supported by the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative, but Kaul said the hope is this outpatient care model will become permanent after COVID-19 passes and can be funded by savings to the health-care system.
Each hospitalization for COPD costs about $7,500 Kaul said, and that increases to $30,000 if it requires a stay in an intensive care unit.