Medtronic streamlines clinician access to cardiac device data with
wireless communications
19 May 2005
Minneapolis, USA. Medtronic, Inc. has announced three major advances that
further boost its comprehensive patient management offerings and ability to
help streamline clinician access to and use of important cardiac data.
First, the company has received U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
approval to distribute a wireless-enabled, in-clinic device programmer, the
Medtronic CareLink(R) (Model 2090) programmer. The new programmer version
will enable wireless communication with implanted devices and high-speed
data connectivity using the internationally recognized Medical Implant
Communications Services (MICS) radiofrequency band. The MICS band,
established by the Federal Communications Commission, helps ensure reliable
transmission of patient data, compared to other frequency bands such as 900
MHz that may have a higher rate of interference. This FDA approval sets the
foundation for efficient and flexible clinician access to important
information retrieved from Medtronic devices that can help guide the care of
chronic disease.
Medtronic also announced the release of its newest version of the
Medtronic Paceart System, its 2005 First Edition. With this edition,
customers now can transfer Medtronic device follow-up session data from the
Medtronic CareLink programmer directly into the Paceart system. The new data
transfer process uses a secure network interface that eliminates the need
for data transport using a 3.5" floppy disk, resulting in improved
efficiency and potential elimination of human error with manual transfers.
Medtronic has offered this Paceart direct data transfer option to other
leading device manufacturers for the potential future benefit of clinician
customers. The new edition also broadens Paceart's reach by allowing user
access from any PC communicating with a clinic's network.
In another move to improve customer efficiency, Medtronic and various
electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management system vendors are
collaborating on future integration between the Paceart system and other
information technology systems. Based on this work with Allscripts
Healthcare Solutions, Gateway Electronic Medical Management Systems (GEMMS),
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., and Cerner Corporation,
Medtronic intends to facilitate interoperability between the Paceart system
and these EMRs for enhanced data management.
"Medtronic offers the most comprehensive and proven patient management
services available to the cardiology community," said Reggie Groves, vice
president of Medtronic Patient Management. "The combination of our
sophisticated device diagnostics and data access and management tools
uniquely positions Medtronic to help ensure that essential device
information gets to the proper physicians in the most efficient path - and
when and where the physicians can act on it. These new advancements are
important steps in our strategy to provide passive device monitoring and
seamless data transfer for the best possible care of patients."
Medtronic is a corporate member of HL-7, the international organization
that governs the creation of standards for interfacing health care
information technology applications, and is a member of HL-7's Implanted
Device Cardiac (IDC) Project, which is a group designing the first set of
international interface standards applying to products like Paceart.
The Medtronic CareLink Network is an Internet-based patient management
system enabling more than 500 cardiology clinics to remotely manage more
than 32,000 patients who have a Medtronic implantable cardiac device. The
May 2005 issue of WIRED magazine's Wired 40 feature highlights the Medtronic
CareLink Network, suggesting it "could change medicine forever."
Medtronic Paceart is a universal data management solution for clinics
that implant sophisticated cardiac devices to treat patients with heart
rhythm problems. It stores programmed device settings, summarizes patient
data into convenient reports, creates patient correspondence, schedules
in-clinic patient visits and remote transmissions, speeds records
processing, and assists in billing management. Paceart systems are installed
in over 1,000 clinics managing more than 1.5 million patients with implanted
cardiac devices. More information about the Paceart system is available at
www.paceart.com
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