CompuMed, CSHC partner to promote CardioGram and CardioGramKids ECG for school health centers

Jun 7 2010

CompuMed, Inc. (OTCBB:CMPD) (http://www.compumed.net), a telemedicine and medical informatics company, has partnered with the nonprofit California School Health Centers Association (CSHC) to promote CompuMed's CardioGram^® and CardioGramKids^® electrocardiogram (ECG) telemedicine technologies for use in school health centers throughout California. CSHC represents more than 150 school health centers that serve more than 800 primary and secondary schools throughout California.

“CSHC has been at the forefront of the school-based healthcare movement and is among the most esteemed healthcare advocacy groups in California. There isn't a better group for us to work with at this stage in our deployment.”

The new partnership calls for CompuMed to provide ECG equipment and interpretive over-reads for screenings, while CSHC will promote CompuMed's ECG telemedicine technologies via its website, e-Newsletters, and statewide and regional conferences, as well as through other initiatives to be developed. CompuMed has already recently participated in CSHC regional conferences in Los Angeles and Oakland.

"Public-private partnerships, like this introduction of CompuMed's ECG telemedicine technology into school-based health centers, provide students and parents with access to important diagnostic services that might otherwise be unavailable or impractical, especially during periods of public budgetary uncertainty," said CSHC Executive Director Serena Clayton, PhD. "We are grateful to CompuMed for its support of our mission to promote the health and academic success of children and youth by putting health care where the kids are - in school."

While the recession has caused many school districts to rethink healthcare spending, CompuMed has made its equipment, software and over-reads extremely affordable for school clinics. The equipment to perform ECGs is provided free of charge, even though it typically costs about $3,500. Each CompuMed over-read by a skilled pediatric cardiologist is reasonably priced at $15, though typically priced in the marketplace from $20 to $150 or more.

According to recent estimates, five to 10 percent of elementary and secondary students in the U.S. today may have undiagnosed heart conditions ranging from mild hypertrophy to life-threatening arrhythmias. Approximately 95 percent of the most serious of these conditions can be detected by an ECG over-read by a pediatric cardiologist. Using CompuMed technology, students can receive an ECG as part of routine pediatric primary care, athletic pre-participation screenings or psychotropic medication monitoring programs performed by school health centers. The test over-read is then performed by a pediatric cardiologist for a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

"We are thrilled to partner with CSHC to educate school health centers about CompuMed's ECG telemedicine technology and services," said CompuMed CEO Maurizio Vecchione. "CSHC has been at the forefront of the school-based healthcare movement and is among the most esteemed healthcare advocacy groups in California. There isn't a better group for us to work with at this stage in our deployment."

According to CompuMed's lead cardiologist David M. Frisch, M.D., F.A.C.C: "Several other nations already require that ECGs be performed on students prior to participation in competitive athletics, as do most colleges in the U.S. and the NCAA. Recent guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) stop short of extending such a recommendation to cover all students in the U.S. The AHA cites logistical and cost issues involved in having traditional ECGs performed on children and adolescents and then over-read by pediatric cardiologists. CompuMed's ECG telemedicine technology and the emergence of school-based health centers change this cost equation and ease the logistical burden dramatically."

A student athlete's heart attack is a shocking event, and can have serious emotional impact upon a school and local community. CompuMed is committed to reducing the likelihood of these tragic events. "In communities where ECGs with pediatric cardiology over-reads are performed on all students prior to athletic participation, the incidence of sudden cardiac deaths among student athletes has been reduced by more than 90 percent," said Dr. Frisch.

A recent national study has found a significant increase in health care access in general by students who used school health centers; 71 percent of students reported having a health care visit in the past year compared to 59 percent of students who did not have access to a center.

Added Vecchione: "We are in the early stages of what we believe is a major paradigm shift in the delivery of high quality, affordable health care to our nation's youth and other previously underserved populations. By enabling widespread access to state-of-the-art preventive health care, products and services like our ECG telemedicine technology can reduce overall healthcare costs while improving the quality of care in the U.S. and worldwide."