Coalition Launches to Fight Ebola with Mobile Health Information

READING, Mass., Oct. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Health eVillages, a program founded by Donato Tramuto and Physicians Interactive (PI) in partnership with the not-for-profit Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), today announced it is establishing a collaborative coalition of companies to distribute free information and timely updates on Ebola through mobile and web-based applications to millions of Health Care Professionals (HCPs) and consumers worldwide.

The Health eVillages Collaborative Coalition is being established to give HCPs around the world practical knowledge that can help them reassure patients, reduce some of the unwarranted panic surrounding the disease and offer clinical information on Ebola from a global health perspective. The coalition's charter members include:

• Health eVillages, which provides iPod®, iPad® and other handheld devices equipped with specialized reference and clinical decision support tools to HCPs in underserved areas around the world.
• The RFK Center, whose global programs partners with individuals, charitable organizations, businesses and government agencies to carry forward the late senator's vision of building a more just and peaceful world.
• Physicians Interactive, which will distribute information on Ebola to HCPs through its free Omnio™ mobile and MedAlert Pro™ messaging applications.
• Healthways, the largest independent global provider of total population health management solutions, which will support information sharing through its various technology and coaching platforms.
• MedHelp, which will share information with millions of consumers through its award-winning mobile apps in diet, fitness, fertility and more.
• WELVU™, which will share knowledge about the disease through its advanced mobile and web-based multimedia patient education and engagement platform, including the EbolaVU^TM app.
• Univadis, a free global digital service from MSD that will offer information on Ebola to HCPs through its portals in 80 countries.

Companies and other organizations interested in joining the Health eVillages Collaborative Coalition can contact Donato Tramuto at 781.904.4638 or [email protected].

Kerry Kennedy, the President of the RFK Center, said, "In programs in underserved regions around the world, Health eVillages has proven that it can save lives and advance care delivery. With the global nature of the spread of Ebola, health care providers must be able to access this critical information, not only to care for patients, but also to take preventive measures so they don't acquire the virus as well.  We are proud to play a role in this critical initiative."

HCPs will be able to access in one place the coalition's digital platforms to review news stories, peer-reviewed medical journal articles, learning modules and newsletters on the disease. It will also include links to Ebola information on these sites:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and its Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI)
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• The Journal of the American Medical Association
• The British Medical Journal
• The Lancet

The Centers for Disease Control and other federal government agencies have received criticism from nurses, the media and elected officials for not adequately sharing critical preventive and patient care information with HCPs in a timely manner to help limit Ebola from spreading. The Omnio, Healthways, MedHelp, WELVU and Univadis platforms will be used by the coalition to reach HCPs across the U.S. and around the world immediately with breaking news, recommendations and guidelines related to the treatment of Ebola.

"It is extremely frustrating that there isn't a more aggressive, proactive and collaborative approach to distributing critical information digitally to health care providers in today's mobile world," said Tramuto, who is also the Chairman and CEO of PI. "The Health eVillages Collaborative Coalition welcomes HCPs, tech companies and other industry leaders around the world to share their expertise, knowledge and experiences. This collaborative, intelligent strategy, which provides the expediency in making Ebola information available through our combined platforms and massive reach to HCPs across the globe, will advance patient care, HCP protection and ultimately save lives from this deadly disease."

Health eVillages provides iPod®, iPad® and other handheld devices equipped with specialized reference and clinical decision support tools. Since its inception in 2011, Health eVillages has made a significant impact in improving access to critical, life-saving medical knowledge and training for multiple programs in East Africa, the Caribbean, India, China and rural areas of Louisiana affected by the 2011 Gulf oil spill. Health eVillages has helped improve the quality of life in these areas through an estimated 50,000 patient interactions with HCPs in local clinics and hospitals.

Mark Friess, the CEO of WELVU and a member of the Health eVillages board, said, "WELVU is honored to join PI, Healthways, MedHelp and MSD Univadis in their quest to work through Health eVillages and the RFK Center to share access for HCPs to critical, life-saving medical knowledge on Ebola. Health eVillages and WELVU have been successful in regions that lack internet access and even basic electricity, so there is no reason for HCPs and consumers around the world to not have the multimedia information they need in a timely manner to ensure a safe working environment, educate patients and communities, and save lives."

Following the initial distribution of the Collaborative Coalition's English-language content to HCPs, it also plans to translate all of the content being provided to HCPs into Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Russian, Chinese and Italian.

About Health eVillages
Health eVillages, a program of the not-for-profit Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and Physicians Interactive, provides state-of-the-art mobile health technology including medical reference and clinical decision support resources to medical professionals in the most challenging clinical environments around the world. For more information about Health eVillages, please visit http://www.healthevillages.org/.

Media Contact:
Tim Boivin
Amendola Communications for Physicians Interactive
224.209.6495
[email protected]

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SOURCE Physicians Interactive