BEARSVILLE, New York, July 30, 2002 - LifeLink Monitoring, the healthcare industry's only comprehensive home telemonitoring service, has been selected to provide telemonitoring services for three major hypertension studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The studies, which could prove groundbreaking in the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure, are being conducted by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York; Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; and Wayne State University College of Nursing, Detroit, Michigan.

The three randomized controlled studies are evaluating whether home telemonitoring-which allows patients to report vital signs from home-can improve treatment of hypertension in low-income populations, which typically have limited access to healthcare. Hypertension, often called the silent killer because of its link to heart disease and lack of visible symptoms, is the number one reason patients visit their doctor.

This marks the second time Mount Sinai and Wayne State have selected LifeLink Monitoring to investigate the effect home telemonitoring has on treating hypertension. In an earlier pilot study conducted by Wayne State, patients using the company's home telemonitoring services experienced an average 25-point drop in their systolic blood pressure, and an average 14-point drop in diastolic pressure-results which are both statistically and clinically significant.

LifeLink Monitoring services offer clinicians a steady stream of data that encourages more timely intervention and better care. These services also give patients immediate voice feedback regarding their progress toward goal. Because they are held accountable and encouraged by this feedback, patients are more likely to adhere to their drug regimens and recommended lifestyle changes, such as losing weight or quitting smoking. Ordinarily, patients with hypertension are monitored during occasional physician office visits for follow-up. The infrequent nature of these visits limits the physician's ability to effectively manage hypertension.

Groundbreaking Studies
The Mount Sinai project, titled The Adherence Study, will follow over 200 patients who are taking blood pressure medication for 12 months to compare the effectiveness of home telemonitoring versus usual clinical care in helping patients adhere to their treatment plans. According to Thomas Pickering, MD, PhD, a co-investigator of the study, this research could have important ramifications for controlling blood pressure in at-risk populations.

"We're targeting mostly low-income African American and Hispanic patients, who are typically underserved but for whom hypertension is commonplace," Pickering said. According to the American Heart Association, about one in three African Americans have high blood pressure. "We're hoping to see, as with an earlier, smaller study, that home telemonitoring improves blood pressure control. LifeLink Monitoring is the only provider that offers a complete service," said Pickering. "We have only to enroll the patients, and they take care of the rest."

The Stanford study, titled New Strategies to Enhance Drug Adherence in Hypertension, will follow patients for 12 months. For the first six months, all patients will use LifeLink Monitoring's blood pressure telemonitoring service to report their blood pressure readings and half will receive active nursing intervention. The telemonitoring service will then be withdrawn, and during the remaining six months, the study will measure how well patients adhere to their treatment plans without home telemonitoring or intervention.

According to Nancy Houston Miller, RN, associate director of the Stanford Cardiac Rehabilitation Center and a co-investigator of the study, researchers will then be able to evaluate whether nurse case management improves blood pressure control as compared with usual care. "We want to answer the question, can nurses successfully influence patients to reach their treatment goal and adhere to that goal?" Houston Miller said. "We chose LifeLink Monitoring because they are a leading company in telemonitoring, and provide an excellent service that is very easy to implement."

The Wayne State project, titled Nurse-Managed Blood Pressure Telemonitoring with African Americans, is also evaluating home telemonitoring versus usual care. A four-year study that will enroll 400 patients, it is a large-scale follow-up to the earlier pilot study that also used LifeLink Monitoring's telemonitoring service. "We want to know the extent to which the effects of the telemonitoring intervention are mediated by changes in dietary habits, physical activity level, weight loss, alcohol intake, compliance with an antihypertension medication regimen, or contact with a primary care provider," said Nancy Artinian, PhD, RN, FAHA, a co-investigator of the study.

LifeLink Monitoring will gather patient data and deliver weekly reports to researchers and to the attending primary care physicians. "This may help the physicians become more attuned to week-to-week fluctuations and trigger more intervention," Artinian said. "LifeLink Monitoring handles everything; all I have to do is look at the reports. That's a big advantage, since those of us in education and clinical research may not have time to sit in front of a computer every day to look at all the data, as some other telemonitoring providers require. LifeLink Monitoring gives us what we need to know to make clinical judgments and provide counseling about lifestyle modification. There's no comparison with other telemonitoring companies."

Another benefit to LifeLink Monitoring services is that they facilitate access to care, Artinian noted. "Many of these patients rely on public transportation and have very limited resources. It's difficult for these patients to get to appointments. Having this link to their physician cuts back on some of the hurdles."

A Pioneer in Home Telemonitoring
LifeLink Monitoring introduced the nation's first blood pressure telemonitoring service. Early this year the company expanded its service offering to include remote monitoring of weight, blood glucose and patient-reported symptoms. This comprehensive service provides worry-free telemonitoring for patients with hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and other chronic medical conditions.

About LifeLink Monitoring Corporation
LifeLink Monitoring is a leading provider of turnkey home telemonitoring services to healthcare organizations. The company's services can be used by anyone responsible for the care of patients with chronic conditions, either in a primary care setting or a formal disease management program. LifeLink Monitoring provides telemonitoring services to home health organizations, disease management companies, managed care organizations, integrated delivery systems, and self-insured employers.

Contact: