Innovative STI SmartTechnology(TM) to be used for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute's (UOHI) ExTENDS Project

HALIFAX, April 14 /PRNewswire/ - STI, Canada's leading provider of pharmacy reimbursement intelligence solutions to the healthcare industry, is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) to facilitate a smoking cessation project.

The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) is leading a project entitled Extending Tobacco Treatment Excellence: A National Dissemination of Systems (ExTENDS). This project is focused in the area of smoking cessation and on the priorities of mobilization of networks, increased use of existing services and programs, knowledge transfer, and increasing availability and use of smoking cessation medications (e.g. Nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline, and bupropion). The proposed project will build upon infrastructure and activities developed through an ongoing Health Canada-funded project as well as a Global Health Partnerships project funded by the Pfizer Foundation in collaboration with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Canada.

STI's SmartTechnology(TM) platform was selected for distribution of pharmacy payment cards which subsidize cessation pharmacotherapy for smokers who want to quit. "STI was chosen for this significant public health project because of their proven experience and flexible technology.", said Kerri-Anne Mullen, Network Manager of the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation at UOHI. "Money can be an issue for some people who are trying to stop smoking. STI's solution is a simple way of improving access to effective treatments for smokers who want to quit."

Key lessons from the project will be shared with partners and the target population as well as synthesized into submissions and presentations for peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. A policy briefing document will be prepared for policy makers and health care decision takers in each of the regions. UOHI has a sustainability action plan which is designed to preserve a large part of the proposed level of activity following completion of the project.

"STI is pleased to be working with UOHI and its partners British Columbia's Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and New Brunswick's Horizon Health Network on extending tobacco treatment excellence and helping more Canadians get the help they need to quit smoking," said Bill Adams, GM of STI. "We hope that by reducing the barriers through the use of cessation pharmacotherapies made available to smokers at pharmacy through the use of our SmartPayment(TM) technology, we can assist people with their goal of being smoke free".

About STI

STI (www.SmartSTI.com) is a Halifax, N.S. based company applying its patent-pending SmartTechnology(TM) platform which provides transactional marketing and reimbursement intelligence solutions to pharmaceutical, pharmacy, government and diagnostic device companies. STI has contracted with over 60 customers for a total of over 200 programs in the market to give patients and healthcare providers greater convenience by providing an enhanced pharmacy medication and device reimbursement process that is built on the safe delivery of healthcare through retail pharmacies.

SOURCE STI (Sampling Technologies Inc.)