Toronto – February 17, 2022 – NexJ Health Inc. (NexJ Health), a provider of advanced virtual care solutions for chronic disease prevention and management, today announces that the Chronic Disease Innovation Centre (CDIC) at the Seven Oaks General Hospital will implement NexJ Connected Wellness as the telemonitoring solution in an innovative clinical trial to reduce adverse events for patients with high-risk chronic kidney disease. 

The Virtual Ward Incorporating Electronic Wearables (VIEWER) clinical trial will be conducted over three years at ten chronic kidney disease clinics across Canada. 

CDIC will provide patients with a VIEWER kit that includes a tablet and wireless monitoring devices that will seamlessly connect to NexJ Connected Wellness to ensure each patient can track their blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation, and steps. Once on NexJ Connected Wellness, patients will have access to training and educational content, clinical data uploads, secure messaging and video calls for direct patient-provider communication. The platform will also prompt patients to complete a daily self-assessment and weekly symptom surveys. 

“As our population ages and rates of diabetes and hypertension continue to increase, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease will also continue to rise, placing further pressure on our healthcare infrastructure,” said Dr. Claudio Rigatto, Principal Investigator and Nephrologist at the Chronic Disease Innovation Centre. “The VIEWER study supported by NexJ Connected Wellness will be used to virtually monitor late-stage chronic kidney disease patients at home, which may reduce the number of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and lead to positive outcomes for the patient and their family.” 

Patients living with advanced chronic kidney disease are at a high risk of dialysis initiation and an increased risk of adverse health events, including muscle weakness, weight loss, memory loss, cardiovascular disease, and death. In addition, they are more likely to visit the emergency department for potentially preventable situations. The VIEWER study is being conducted to trial the feasibility of electronic wearable devices and a cloud-based virtual care platform to collect and observe health data from patients with advanced chronic kidney disease.  

“We are proud to collaborate with CDIC on the VIEWER study and contribute to improving the lives of patients with advanced chronic kidney disease,” said Dr. Noah Wayne, Vice President of Clinical Programs at NexJ Health. “We are thrilled that NexJ Connected Wellness will be pivotal in developing a system that uses patient-generated data to enable clinicians to anticipate when adverse events will occur, and to intervene before they progress.” 

NexJ Health continues to progress in their commitment to quality research that validates the use of NexJ Connected Wellness to increase adherence to healthy behaviors, improve clinical outcomes, and better the overall patient and provider experience. Beyond the initial study, the Chronic Disease Innovation Centre and NexJ Health look forward to collaborating to scale this evidence-based program to clinics across Canada and the US. 

About NexJ Health Inc. 

At NexJ Health, we believe that the most efficient and cost-effective way to offset the rise in chronic disease is to empower patients, with the support of their families, friends, and healthcare professionals, to actively participate in managing their own chronic condition(s). By engaging patients through NexJ Connected Wellness, we help to achieve healthcare’s 5-part aim: improve the patient experience, improve population health, lower the per capita cost of care, increase provider satisfaction, and deliver business efficiency. For more information about NexJ Health visit www.nexjhealth.com, e-mail info@nexjhealth.com, or call 416-227-3700. 

About Chronic Disease Innovation Centre 

Seven Oaks Hospital Chronic Disease Innovation Centre is embedded in a unique community and specialty hospital with a remarkable emphasis on treatment, management, and prevention of chronic disease. This ideal location allows research to be applied directly to improve care within the hospital and demonstrates the way to change healthcare delivery everywhere.