SHL Telemedicine Subscribers Identified as Being at Low Risk of Hospital Readmission in Post-AMI Study

TEL AVIV, Israel and ZURICH, Aug. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SHL Telemedicine Ltd. (SIX Swiss Exchange: SHLTN, OTCPK: SMDCY), a leading provider and developer of advanced personal telemedicine solutions, today announced results from a study on hospital readmission rates for patients who have suffered from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study, which was conducted by the Departments of Cardiology and Internal Medicine at Tel Aviv University, demonstrated that SHL Telemedicine subscribers who had been hospitalized for AMI within the past 30 days experienced a 5.8 percent hospital readmission rate.

The study evaluated the impact of using the Company's telemedicine platform on the 30-day post-AMI readmission rate between 2009 and 2012. A total of 897 patients were included in the study and only 52 patients, or 5.8%, were readmitted within the 30-day time frame, a significant improvement over the standard 20% re-admission rate associated with AMI patients.

AMI is a leading cause of global mortality and morbidity. In the United States alone it is estimated that 720,000 Americans a year have an MI contributing to approximately 935,000 hospitalizations annually at a cost of over USD 10 Billion¹.  

"Our telemedicine platform enables patients to have greater control over their heart conditions by successfully monitoring heart beat irregularities and notifying the patient as to when medical consultation is required. In turn, our solution also reassures patients when no treatment is necessary," explained Erez Alroy, co-CEO of SHL Telemedicine. "The results from this study demonstrate that our telemedicine platform empowers patients to better manage their medical care. This significantly reduces unnecessary hospital readmissions, resulting in substantial cost savings to the medical community and greatly improving quality of life for patients."

"We are seeing a strong global movement toward personalized medicine as more and more people start to realize the tremendous benefits of becoming involved in their own treatment. Aging populations and the trend toward health consumerism have created the need for reliable, personalized solutions that can improve the quality of life for sufferers of chronic heart conditions such as arrhythmia, ischemia, and myocardial infarction. Our telemedicine platform addresses these needs by encouraging greater patient involvement in healthcare decisions, while significantly decreasing medical bills and maximizing professionals' time and productivity," concluded Alroy.

About SHL Telemedicine

SHL Telemedicine is engaged in developing and marketing personal telemedicine systems and the provision of medical call center services, with a focus on cardiovascular and related diseases, to end users and to the healthcare community. SHL Telemedicine offers its services and personal telemedicine devices to subscribers utilizing telephonic and Internet communication technology. The Company operates in Israel, Germany, India and the United States in one business segment, Telemedicine services. SHL is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SHLTN, ISIN: IL0010855885, Security No.: 1128957) and has an ADR program listed over-the counter; Symbol: SMDCY. For more information please visit our web site at www.shl-telemedicine.com.

Some of the information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. SHL Telemedicine undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements

¹ Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics--2014 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association

SOURCE SHL Telemedicine Ltd.