Senior care company Independa has inked a deal with Telcare to add its cellular-enabled glucose meter to its remote management services for older people. Telcare's meter received clearance from the FDA last August, making it the first meter with cellular embedded.
The Telcare BGM device sends the glucose readings to the company's central server, which then sends it to Independa's cloud-based Caregiver Web App. Patients, caregivers and providers can access the readings via the dashboard and control panel on Indepenada's Caregiver Web portal, which is accessible through PCs, laptops, and tablets, according to the company. Independa also will flag data that might indicate the user requires more attention.
Independa aims to begin offering Telcare's glucose monitor to its customers starting May 1. Earlier this year Independa announced a deal with LG to pilot Independa's Angela platform on the television maker's flatscreens at senior living communities.
Last month Telcare launched a free, companion iPhone app, called MyTelcare Diabetes Pal that helps Telcare BGM users to track their glucose readings, medications, nutrition, activities and more. The app automatically receives glucose readings from the Telcare BGM device, which means no more manual logging of blood glucose readings. Other non-Telcare BGM device users can still use the Telcare app to manually log their readings.
In February Boston-based Healthrageous has inked a co-marketing deal with Telcare, to integrate blood glucose readings collected from Telcare's device into Healthrageous’ “personal health improvement” platform. The companies plan to market the combined offering to health plans and self-insured employers.
At the end of January, a health plan that services self-funded employers in New York and New Jersey, MagnaCare, announced that it would offer Telcare’s cellular-enabled blood glucose meter to its members. MagnaCare said the device and its corresponding apps will help its members be more proactive in managing their own health conditions, while also helping physicians stay better informed.
For more on Telcare's deal with Independa, read the press release below:
PRESS RELEASE: SAN DIEGO, March 20, 2012 – Independa announced today it will incorporate best-of-breed Telcare glucose monitoring into a suite of sensors professional and family caregivers can use to track the health and well-being of independent elderly. Instant transmission of Telcare’s glucose testing results to Independa’s care management cloud will immediately deliver measurements to professional and family caregivers.
Telcare’s Blood Glucose Meter (BGM), the world’s first cellular glucose meter, becomes the first fully mobile monitoring system adopted by Independa. The Telcare glucometer is portable, making it ideal for care recipients on the move, as well as “snowbirds” and other elderly travelers. The device is designed to significantly increase the productivity of caregivers, who no longer need to spend time calling to ask for their care recipients’ glucose measurements.
“By introducing Telcare’s glucose monitoring system to our Integrated CloudCare™ suite, we’re adding flexibility and providing another option to help caregivers cost-effectively monitor the precise health status of elderly care recipients without time-consuming personal visits or ineffective telephone calls,” said Independa CEO Kian Saneii.
Glucose monitoring is universally recognized as essential to managing diabetes and preventing complications. Telcare’s award-winning, FDA-cleared mobile platform addresses the needs of an active elderly population continuing to travel and enjoy life to its fullest.
Information obtained via Telcare glucometers will be sent to Telcare’s central server, which will securely deliver the data to Independa’s cloud-based Caregiver Web App. The Caregiver Web App, the gateway to all information on care recipients, provides a dashboard and control panel that caregivers can access anywhere through desktop or laptop computers, or computer tablets. Important thresholds and alert escalations are set within the Independa system and will be applied to Telcare data.
“Our relationship with Independa provides a valuable connection of Telcare’s glucose meter data to a comprehensive solution designed for older adults,” said Dr. Jonathan Javitt, Telcare’s CEO. “As a result, caregivers and care recipients will be able to easily access and act on glucose readings wherever their travels may take them.”
Independa plans to make Telcare glucose monitoring available May 1 through channel partners, such as home care and home health providers and senior living facilities.
About Independa, Inc.
Independa offers leading technology-enabled independent-living solutions for the elderly. Independa’s best-of-breed Integrated CloudCare services enable organizations and individuals to cost-effectively help the elderly to remain independent longer, safer and more comfortably. The company, which has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, provides services including medication and appointment reminders, support for activities of daily living, comprehensive social engagement benefits, and wireless health and safety monitoring.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/independa
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About Telcare
Telcare is a leading provider of mHealth solutions that leverage award-winning cellular machine-2-machine technology to bridge the last mile between patients and their caregivers in order to improve the care of chronic illness. Telcare products have been awarded First Place prizes in the categories of Health, Wellness and Fitness Application and Health Enterprise Solution by CTIA and Telcare was just named a finalist in the 2012 Edison Award competition. In addition to directly reducing cost of care by improving outcomes and preventing complications, Telcare creates an ecosystem of care that provides caregivers and disease managers with previously-unavailable actionable clinical data. For more information, visit the Telcare website at www.telcare.com.
