Largest remote health monitoring project in the world launched in China

Canada-based IDEAL LIFE and China's Shandong NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer and medical products distribution network in China, announced the launch of the largest remote health monitoring project in the world, bringing wireless, remote health monitoring to the People's Republic of China.

“IDEAL LIFE has the first-class technology and the talent for this endeavor. Its complete end-to-end solution leads the world in remote health monitoring.”

"This historic agreement proves we deliver on our promise to improve health on a global scale," said Jason Goldberg, president and founder of IDEAL LIFE, a multinational company that provides consumer-driven, wireless mobile health and wellness solutions. "With easy-to-use, interactive kiosks and remote health monitoring devices, individuals in villages, in community centers, and in large cities can have their health information recorded and instantly transmitted to their health care provider in a way that fits their lifestyle. People can manage their own health, interact with their physician or health coach, and even allow family members to participate in their care on their own terms. The results will be healthier patients, fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and better use of scarce health care resources."

The first kiosks will be installed in community hospitals in Shandong province. More than 100,000 patients will participate in the initial program, making this the largest remote health monitoring initiative in the world. To support expansion throughout China, groundbreaking for an independent monitoring center is scheduled for February 2011.

"For years we researched the remote health monitoring market, looking for a product that was affordable, easy to use, accurate and scalable for China's vast population," said Liu Zhengping, CEO of NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. "IDEAL LIFE has the first-class technology and the talent for this endeavor. Its complete end-to-end solution leads the world in remote health monitoring."

"To adopt new technology, concepts and systems, we must break old modes of thinking," noted Zheng Yunfeng, President, NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. "But with continued cooperation from government, physicians, hospitals, community service centers and other important partners, we see incredible opportunities for significant economic and health benefits to all stakeholders. Together, our two companies and this state-of-the art technology will change the traditional concept of managing chronic disease and place China as the leader in prevention and health care management."

The IDEAL LIFE system is unique in its capability to provide two-way communication between the patient and the provider or health coach within the monitoring device, eliminating the need for expensive additional devices. The self-service kiosks allow unlimited users to connect with providers at reduced connectivity charges, giving entire communities unprecedented access to healthcare and to two-way educational communication at the point of care. These ingenious end-to-end solutions make IDEAL LIFE the most affordable system on the market. IDEAL LIFE's products also automatically populate and integrate seamlessly with the provider's data collection systems and with electronic medical records, so that this vital data can be accessed at any time and at any location.

China, the world's most populous country, faces the challenges of both Western countries and Third World nations in providing access to quality healthcare to its citizens, including a growing number of individuals with chronic illnesses.

The British medical journal "The Lancet" reports that approximately 153 million Chinese adults have hypertension; only 24 percent of these individuals are aware of their condition and less than 24 percent of that group have their blood pressure under control. According to the "New England Journal of Medicine," approximately 92.4 million adults in China have diabetes, almost twice as many as had been previously estimated. An estimated 50 million more Chinese with undiagnosed diabetes will enter medical care within the next 10 - 20 years, per a study just released by the International Diabetes Federation and the Chinese Diabetes Society. Finally, annual cardiovascular events in China are expected to increase 50 percent between 2010 and 2030 due to population aging and growth alone, as reported in "Future Cardiovascular Disease in China," published in "Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes."

Programs like the collaboration between IDEAL LIFE and NovaTech Biological Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., are critically needed to cost-effectively manage these populations.