Lung Association and QRS Diagnostic Cooperate to Help Primary Care Providers Improve the Management of Pediatric Asthma in Minnesota
Seminar Participants will receive a High-tech Diagnostic Device for Free
MINNEAPOLIS – April 15, 2003 – The American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN) and QRS Diagnostic, leader in innovative design and development of software-based medical devices contained entirely in computer cards, are cooperating in a statewide effort to improve asthma care for Minnesota children by offering primary care providers training and technology once reserved for specialists. ALAMN plans to conduct 15 Physician Asthma Care Education (PACE) seminars for 300 primary care providers in various locations around the state over the next 12 months. Thanks to a donation from Plymouth, Minn.-based QRS Diagnostic, each participating physician group and clinic will receive a SpiroCard(R), a $1,500 device that inserts into the PC Card slot of standard laptop and handheld PCs and converts them into a spirometer, a diagnostic tool used to measure pulmonary function and manage asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
PACE is an effective education seminar that has been demonstrated nationally to significantly enhance physician practice in asthma treatment and improve long-term patient outcomes," says Jerry Orr, ALAMN chief executive officer. Thanks to QRS Diagnostic, we can provide PACE participants with a crucial technology tool to put into practice what they learn in the seminars and improve care for the thousands of children in Minnesota with asthma."
QRS is committed to making high-tech diagnostic devices useful for primary care physicians," says Spencer Lien, chief executive officer, QRS Diagnostic. Spirometry is vital to the proper diagnosis and treatment of asthma in primary care, and we hope that our support of the PACE seminars will accelerate the use of spirometry by primary care physicians in Minnesota."
Originally developed by a team of physicians and social scientists at the University of Michigan, PACE seminars feature three components of continuing medical education: improving clinical practice by using national best-practice pediatric asthma guidelines, instruction on patient teaching methods and communication skills, and suggestions on how to incorporate PACE skills into everyday practice. The seminars include brief lectures on clinical practice, billing/reimbursement, and office-based quality improvement techniques; a video depicting effective clinician teaching and parent/patient communications; asthma clinical case studies; a physician protocol for patient communication assessment; and patient teaching materials. For more information on the PACE seminars, contact April Athmann at 651-268-7615 or e-mail April.Athmann@alamn.org.
SpiroCard from QRS Diagnostic is a PC Card spirometer that uses pre-calibrated, single-use, disposable mouthpieces to measure the volume and velocity of airflow from human lungs. ALAMN will provide PACE participants with an initial supply of the patented mouthpieces for use with the SpiroCards provided by QRS. The QRS device exceeds the accuracy standards of the American Thoracic Society (ATS). SpiroCard offers frontline physicians a useful, reasonably priced way to practice state-of-the-art medicine," says Patrick Zook, M.D., a family practice physician with the St. Cloud Medical Group, St. Cloud, Minn. For more information on SpiroCard, contact Corey Davidson at 763-559-8492, ext. 942 or e-mail CDavidson@QRSdiagnostic.com.
About QRS Diagnostic
Founded in 1994, QRS Diagnostic, Plymouth, Minn., uses innovative software technology to design and develop FDA-approved medical devices that simplify and reduce the costs of diagnostic testing and patient monitoring. With our patented computer card technology platform, QRS turns PDAs, laptops and handheld PCs into modular, upgradeable and portable medical devices and streamlines the collection and communication of precise physiological data. We enable primary care physicians to cost-effectively practice high-tech medicine while delivering the accuracy that specialists and hospitals demand. The affordability, durability and mobility of QRS devices also advance wireless patient monitoring for disease management, home healthcare and personal health management. For more information on QRS, please visit www.QRSdiagnostic.com.
About ALAMN
The American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN), serving Minnesotans since 1903, is one of the oldest non-profit voluntary health organizations in the nation. ALAMN provides advocacy, research, education and programs to promote healthy air, healthy people and healthy lungs. Key areas of focus include: outdoor and indoor air quality, asthma management, smoking prevention and cessation and lung disease management. For more information please call 1-800-586-4872 or visit www.alamn.org.
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Media Contacts:
David Aquilina for QRS Diagnostic
612-922-5551
davidaquilina@msn.com
Robert Moffitt for ALAMN
651-269-7561
robert.moffitt@alamn.org
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