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IBM Canada Ltd. and Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada: VON Selects IBM to Develop Smarter Home Health Care Delivery System

^{Published on 2009-02-05 06:29:01, Last Modified on 2009-02-05 06:29:39 - Market Wire}
 

OTTAWA, ONTARIO and MARKHAM, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 5, 2009) - Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada (VON) has signed a two-year deal worth more than C$10 million with IBM (NYSE:IBM) to help the organization transform the way home and community health care is delivered in Canada.

IBM will provide new business processes and clinical technologies - including mobile wireless hand-held devices for hundreds of home healthcare providers to schedule appointments and collect, share and access patient information in real-time. Other systems such as human resources, talent management, benefits administration, finance and accounting will also be automated and interconnected as part of the project.

This transformational initiative will enable the national, not-for-profit organization's 52 locations across Canada to be more integrated and cost-efficient, thereby improving community services and patient care.

"VON's vision is to streamline practices and create a technology platform that is compatible with provincial systems, so we are in better position to integrate into the larger healthcare system," says Judith Shamian, president and chief executive officer of VON Canada. "With IBM as our collaborator, this work will facilitate the adoption of electronic health records, and enable, for the first time, the integration of home and community care activities into other parts of the health care system."

Home health care is the fastest growing sector in health care and as the Canadian population ages, demand will increase. Approximately 900,000 Canadians regularly access home care. Between 1995 and 2002, the number of Canadians receiving home care increased by more than 60 per cent.

The IBM contract covers financing, business transformation, consulting, application management of back-office functions, new hardware, portal software, and integration services to support the new wireless handheld devices.