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Healthcare Consumers Can Now Access Their Personal Health Records (PHRs) From Cell PhonesNEWTOWN, Pa. --(Business Wire)-- CapMed, a Division of Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: BITI) a leader in PHR solutions, has announced the acquisition of the patent-pending ICE First(TM) technology of Juke Systems, Inc., a developer of mobile phone applications, based in Darien, Connecticut. The acquisition will put personal health records (PHRs) in the hands of healthcare consumers who will be able to access important health, medical and insurance information from most cell phones, including popular brands developed by Nokia(R), Palm(R), Blackberry(R), Motorola(R), LG(R) and Samsung(R) to name a few, and integration with Apple's new iPhone(R) is in development. Consumers can store routine and emergency medical information and contact numbers in their cell phones and easily update the information through a website database www.ICEFirst.com, accessible from any computer. "The ICE First technology enhances CapMed's suite of personal health management solutions (Online PHR, Personal HealthKey(TM), and Personal Health Record CD-ROM)," says Wendy Angst, general manager of Bio-Imaging's CapMed division. "It provides a practical and easy way for absolutely everyone to have critical health information available when and where it is needed." Healthcare consumers benefit from ICE First by gaining immediate cell phone access to emergency and routine health information for themselves and up to 10 family members. Consumers can quickly update personal health information through a web site database accessible from any computer and then synchronize that information with personal cell phones. They can also rely on ICE First technology when filling out or updating health and medical forms required by physician practices, schools, and employers. Consumers already using the award-winning CapMed PHR will have the benefit of transferring emergency data directly from their PHR to their mobile phone using the ICE First technology. "By combining ICE First technology with the award-winning products from CapMed, users of ICE First are better positioned to monitor and manage their own health, as well as the health of family members," says Keith Buckley, president and CEO of Juke Systems. "The ability to access up-to-date health information from cell phones will go a long way toward improving consumers' interactions with physicians and clinicians and with the entire healthcare system." The new cell phone PHR application displays the date in which the information was last updated and sends electronic alerts and reminders to healthcare consumers reminding them to update their information on a regular basis. The total number of cell phone users in the U.S. grew 10.8% to 233.1 million as of the end of 2006, a figure representing 69% of the U.S. population, according to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) www.ctia.org. Consumers have already found value in cell phone technology. According to the 2006 survey conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org), 74% of cellular phone users say they have used their hand-held device in an emergency and gained valuable help and some 41% of cell phone owners say they fill in free time when traveling or waiting by making phone calls. Among the potential beneficiaries of ICE First are women, who typically manage family medical decisions and maintain health records for family members, including spouses, children and elderly relatives. The National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) estimate that women constitute more than 60 percent of those who voluntarily care for the elderly. ICE First is available for download by individual patients and healthcare consumers through an annual subscription or through sponsorship of the technology from hospitals, health systems, associations, medical groups or health plans. CapMed, a division of Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc., is the cornerstone of Bio-Imaging's Personal Health Management Division. CapMed is the leading provider of patient outreach solutions for hospitals and healthcare systems, providers' offices, managed care organizations and pharmaceutical companies, with more than 700,000 distributed to date. These solutions enable patients to monitor and manage their health and to improve communications with care providers, ultimately improving outcomes and reducing costs of care and are available in three formats: Online PHR, the portable Personal HealthKey(TM), and Personal Health Record CD-ROM. CapMed offers custom development to organizations who want to add unique or proprietary capabilities to the platform. For more information on the CapMed Personal Health Management Solutions, please visit www.CapMed.com or the consumer website, www.CapMedPHR.com. Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc. is a healthcare contract service organization providing services that support the product development process of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The Company has specialized in assisting its clients in the design and management of the medical-imaging component of clinical trials since 1990. Bio-Imaging serves its clients on a global basis through its US Core Lab in Newtown, PA, its European Core Lab in Leiden, The Netherlands and its recent acquisition of Theralys SA in Lyon, France. Through its CapMed division, Bio-Imaging provides the Personal HealthKey(TM) technology and the Personal Health Record (PHR) software allowing patients to better monitor and manage their health care information. Copies of Bio-Imaging Technologies' press releases and other information may be obtained through Bio-Imaging's web site at www.bioimaging.com. Apple iPhone(R), Nokia(R), Palm(R), Blackberry(R), Motorola(R), LG(R) and Samsung(R) are registered trademarks of the respective companies. No relationship exists between CapMed, Bio-Imaging Technologies, Inc., Apple, Nokia, Palm, Blackberry, Motorola, LG or Samsung, and none is implied. Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, the Company's statements regarding trends in the marketplace and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the consummation and the successful integration of current and proposed acquisitions, the timing of projects due to the variability in size, scope and duration of projects, estimates made by management with respect to the Company's financial results, backlog, critical accounting policies, regulatory delays, clinical study results which lead to reductions or cancellations of projects and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Company's control. The factors discussed herein and expressed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance. You should review the Company's filings, especially risk factors contained in the Form 10-K and the recent form 10-Q. |
