NOTE: This template news release is intended to be customized for local hospital
use.
NEWS RELEASE
Contact(s):
[NAME]
[DEPARTMENT]
[PHONE NUMBER/EMAIL]
[HOSPITAL] SPEEDS UP DEVICE CHECKS FOR IMPLANTED CARDIAC DEVICE
PATIENTS WITH NEW REMOTE MONITORING SERVICE
CareLink Express™ Service Allows Clinicians in [city/state/region] to Treat
Patients with Cardiac Devices More Quickly
[CITY AND DATE] –– [HOSPITAL] recently became one of the first hospitals in
[city/region/state] to use CareLink Express™ Service, a newly launched remote
monitoring system that enables clinicians in healthcare facilities to quickly obtain data
regarding the status of implanted Medtronic cardiac devices, facilitating faster
treatment decisions. An industry-first, the system enables a device technical expert to
remotely review device data and send the information to the hospital within minutes.
“Incorporating CareLink Express into our facility will enable us to provide better
service to our cardiac device patients by providing them faster access to care, while
improving our patient flow and decreasing costs related to delays that occur while
waiting for a device checks to be completed,” said (Hospital administrator name/title) of
X Hospital. “We are already seeing cost and time savings, and anticipate that this
technology will continue to positively impact patients with implantable cardiac devices.
The new service was recently evaluated in a 55-site pilot program over the past 6
months. In the pilot, healthcare facilities using CareLink Express were able to reduce
patient wait times from an average of 84 minutes to less than 15 minutes.1
Prior to the FDA clearance of CareLink Express in August 2011, patients had to wait to
have their devices checked in person by a device technical expert any time they were
1
CareLink Express Pilot Data (Medtronic CareLink Network, May 2012)
admitted to a hospital emergency department or operating room, regardless of the
reason for their visit. With CareLink Express, the device technical expert can now check
the device from a remote location and still provide the same assessment for the patient
and device-following physician. In addition, a copy of the transmission data and
assessment report can also be automatically sent to the patient’s following physician
and exported to the facility’s Electronic Medical Record.
Today, more than 3 million Americans have implantable cardiac devices, such as a
pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or implantable cardiac
monitors (ICMs)2 XX of which live in [area]. As healthcare facilities continue to face
rising costs, CareLink Express provides a faster and cost-effective way to treat and
manage this large population when it comes to implantable cardiac device checks.
[HOSPITAL] took part in a pilot program from [insert dates] that further demonstrated
the benefits – time, value, and cost -- of the Carelink Express system. Throughout the
experience [HOSPITAL] was pleased to find that [insert pilot program statistic]. But
patients notice the benefits as well.
The Medtronic CareLink Network
The CareLink Network is the industry’s leading and longest-running remote
monitoring system.3 CareLink provides health care providers and patients the
convenience of telemedicine by remotely monitoring patients implanted with
Medtronic cardiac devices and providing comprehensive data received from the devices
to their physicians.
In collaboration with leading clinicians, researchers and scientists, Medtronic offers the
broadest range of innovative medical technology for the interventional and surgical
treatment of cardiovascular disease and cardiac arrhythmias. The company strives to
offer products and services that deliver clinical and economic value to healthcare
consumers and providers worldwide.
[HOSPITAL BOILERPLATE]
– end –
2
3
Medtronic Finance Metrics, May 2012.
CareLink System Database, May 2012