Feb. 20th, 2008 - New Brunswick extends Tele-Care into 2013

Clinidata was the successful proponent in a Government of New Brunswick Request for Proposal for the New Brunswick Tele-Care services and health-related information lines.

The service will continue to be provided from Clinidata's Moncton and Bathurst sites, which employ over 30 registered nurses and include a staff of over 50. 

Clinidata has been a partner with the New Brunswick Government since 1997 and has demonstrated a keen understanding of the province and its people.

The province issued the following press release:

Health department to enhance Tele-Care services and health-related information lines (08/02/19)

NB 205

Feb. 19, 2008

Fredericton (CNB) - Tele-Care services and health-related information lines will be enhanced to provide better and more efficient service, Health Minister Michael Murphy announced today. 

The announcement comes after the government signed a new contract with the existing service provider, Clinidata, following a request for proposals.

Tele-Care services and health-related information lines provide New Brunswickers bilingual access to telephone triage, advice, and information for non-urgent problems 24 hours a day, seven days a week by way of toll free lines. 

To assist in the situation involving a former pathologist in Miramichi, a special toll-free information line was recently installed to provide information to affected patients and families.

Murphy said the department is interested in finding ways to expand these services.

"Tele-Care and our other information lines are an effective and efficient way of making health information more accessible to New Brunswickers," Murphy said. "My department will continue to investigate the potential to further take advantage of this technology to keep our population healthier, informed and reduce health care costs at the same time."

Possible improvements include: going beyond tele-triage to incorporate health education, wellness counseling, chronic disease management as well as providing services online and fully integrating with other health care services such as hospitals and community health centres. Integration into the interoperable electronic health record and the OnePatient One Record vision is also a consideration.

The new contract has an added service level which will help reduce the number of abandoned calls.

Staffed by professional nurses, Tele-Care is a contact centre offering tele-triage and health information and advice lines to the population of New Brunswick.

Health-related information lines include:

·       Rabies Information Line 

·       West Nile Virus/Avian Influenza Information Line 

·       Gambling Information Line 

·       Sexually Transmitted Infections Information Line 

·       Poison Information Line 

·       Organ and Tissue Donor Screening Line 

The previous contract with Clinidata ended Dec. 31, 2007. The term of the new contract extends from Jan. 1, 2008 to March 31, 2013.

Clinidata began providing province-wide Tele-Care services in 1997. Health-related information lines were added in subsequent years. In 2006-2007, there were over 100,000 serviced calls.