Intrahealth wins further Canadian contract

Media Release 8 June 2006

NZ Health IT firm Intrahealth wins further Canadian contract

New Zealand health IT software company Intrahealth Systems Ltd has won a contract with the First Nations of Vancouver Island Inter Tribal Health Authority (ITHA) to supply a health information system developed for Maori in New Zealand.

The contract worth around NZ$ 600,000 over the next two years, is the second won by Intrahealth in Canada in the past six months.

Late last year the company won a $4.8 - $7.2 million contract with Canada's Fraser Health Authority in British Columbia to help improve the delivery and co-ordination of its primary health care services to a population of around 1.44 million people

The latest contract will enable the 28-member health authority to improve the delivery and co-ordination of its clinical services by developing electronic health records for its members.

Dr Mark Matthews, the chief executive of Intrahealth says the relationship between ITHA and Intrahealth builds on a similar project undertaken with the Ministry of Health, Maori Health Directorate. 'Our experience with Maori in New Zealand has resulted in a system that will meet the requirements of First Nations communities and also allows linkages to larger provincial and national health information systems.

Dr Matthews attributes his company's growing international success to its early recognition that isolated GP systems would be outmoded.

"We saw the necessity is to link up not only GPs but specialists and other non-medical care providers in a coordinated network. Our early versions had the power but were too difficult to use. Now our products have matured and North America is simultaneously recognizing that the vision we had back in the late 1990s is the way forward for health systems.

Intrahealth's inSync, Profile and Accession products operate within a single integrated platform and are designed to link numerous participants electronically, for example hospitals, physicians, community health nurses so they can potentially share patient records. The platform, while managing privacy issues, also allows patients to access their records, make appointments and interface with healthcare professionals.

The company is continuing to look for further export opportunities for its products, particularly in North America.

Dr Matthews says New Zealand Trade and Enterprise had provided matched financial support and market intelligence to help with its expansion into export growth.

NZTE ICT sector director Hans Frauenlob says Intrahealth is one of several New Zealand IT companies with export success in Canada.

“Canada is making significant investments to improve healthcare delivery, and is seeking leading-edge solutions. New Zealand has produced a number of innovative health IT companies which the Canadians have found to be best-in-class, and NZTE is working with the sector to build on their successes. We are gratified by the rapid progress Intrahealth has made in this market."

ENDS

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