TELUS earns two-year contract extension with Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for the operation of the Health Network System
Extension recognizes excellence in on-line and real time drug claims
adjudication under the Ontario Public Drug Programs (OPDP)
TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /CNW/ - TELUS Health today announced a two-year
extension to its agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Health and
Long-Term Care for the Health Network System (HNS). HNS provides
computerized claim adjudication, pharmacy payment, and several batch
and administrative support applications, to the OPDP. Pharmacies submit
drug benefit claims electronically and the HNS validates eligibility,
provides drug utilization review information messages, authorizes
payment and calculates the government share of eligible prescription
costs.
TELUS Health's management, operation and maintenance of electronic
processing systems and technology support services enable the
processing of drug claims under the OPDP. Under this 2-year extension,
approximately 125 million Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) claims will be
adjudicated and paid annually at TELUS' advanced data facilities in
Ontario.
"We are extremely pleased that TELUS Health's contract to manage the
largest, real-time online transaction processing system in the Ontario
government has been extended by two years," said Paul Lepage, senior
vice-president, TELUS Health. "This extension demonstrates our position
as a trusted supplier in providing health information technology
services and solutions to government agencies and private insurance
companies. It also demonstrates our commitment to enable timely,
efficient delivery of drug claims services and responsive
administration of prescription drugs to qualified patients via
pharmacies, hospitals and other registered healthcare facilities."
OPDP is supported by a portfolio of business solutions and IT services,
comprising the HNS. Under the HNS Agreement, TELUS Health provides
facilities management and operations as well as application
development, support, and maintenance for a significant portion of the
HNS. In addition to managing the Health Network, TELUS provides
dedicated staff to support and enhance the system to meet the changing
needs of the OPDP program.
By the end of 2011, more than 3,865 agencies and 161 hospitals were
connected to the HNS and more than 150 authorized users had system
access. The system adjudicates about 125 million online real-time
transactions per year from the approximately 2.2 million Ontarians
using ODB programs. Operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, the
HNS adjudicates more than 55,000 claims per hour at its busiest
periods.
About TELUS Health
TELUS Health is a leader in telehealth, electronic health records,
remote patient monitoring, mobile home and community care, consumer
health, benefits management and pharmacy management. Its solutions give
health authorities, providers, physicians, patients and consumers the
power to turn information into better health outcomes. For more
information about TELUS Health, please visit www.telushealth.com.
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications
company in Canada, with $10.5 billion of annual revenue and 12.7
million customer connections including 7.4 million wireless
subscribers, 3.5 million wireline network access lines and 1.3 million
Internet subscribers and more than 550,000 TELUS TV customers. Led
since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a
wide range of communications products and services including wireless,
data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and
video.
In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team
members and retirees have contributed more than $260 million to
charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.2 million
hours of service to local communities since 2000. Eleven TELUS
Community Boards across Canada lead TELUS' local philanthropic
initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding
philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of
Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to
receive this prestigious international recognition.
For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.
For further information: Janice Murray
TELUS Health
416-487-5007
Janice.murray@telus.com