In this new cooperative approach to ostomy care, the hospital’s specialist stoma nurse takes on a leading role, while the patient keeps the same point of contact, both in the hospital and at home. StomaLife’s strength lies in the fact that it is a carefully designed treatment protocol for all caregivers involved, combined with monitoring that focuses on preventing complications. Potentially, StomaLife can cut healthcare costs by at least 10%.

In The Netherlands, 38,000* people have a stoma. It is estimated that 7,000 new stomas are formed each year. Research** shows that 70 to 90% of people with a stoma will, sooner or later, suffer a complication such as backflow or blockage. StomaLife reduces the number of complications, while helping people with a stoma to be more self-reliant at home, and encouraging the prescription of ostomy products that are compatible with the patient’s life.

Self-reliance starts even before the surgery. The stoma nurse carefully prepares the patient for every aspect of life with a stoma. Together, they tape a ‘practice stoma’ to the patient’s abdomen so that he or she can experience how it feels to have a stoma and learn how to take care of it. This way, patients are well prepared when they return home, with a stoma. With StomaLife, the stoma nurse is and remains the first point of contact for people with a stoma. The option of home visits after surgery gives them greater confidence in their ability to self-manage in the home situation, and helps prevent complications.

StomaLife’s efficient work procedures, together with the continuous monitoring involved, helps to avoid unnecessary healthcare costs. In addition, the choice of an appropriate stoma appliance is based on the life style of the person with a stoma. On behalf of the hospital, Mediq CombiCare continues to monitor people with a stoma after they have been discharged. This enables hospitals to keep an eye on the situation at home, while Mediq CombiCare notifies hospital stoma nurses if a complication is detected. 

According to Annette Gardien, stoma nurse at the Haga Hospital the name is self-explanatory: “StomaLife is all about life with a stoma. Nobody wants to be dependent. When people with a stoma arrive home, the unavoidable fact is that they must take care of the stoma themselves. This often raises new questions. In the past, patients had to go back to the hospital to get their questions answered. In practice, however, few ever did. This is why, in StomaLife, our focus is on promoting self-reliance and why we now also visit people at home. They are a little surprised at first, but they are also delighted to see a familiar face from hospital in the surroundings of their own home.”

“Ostomy care does not stop at the hospital’s front door”, says Vincent Weijers, Executive Vice President of Mediq Benelux and France. “Complications are often not caught in time, or they are not even recognized as such, because the person with a stoma thinks “this is normal.” This type of cooperation with hospitals and health insurers enables the structure of ostomy care to be organized differently. Together we can make a difference for people with a stoma. Ostomy care involves specialized care, and StomaLife gives people access to hospital-based expertise, even at home. That results in  better care while, ultimately, costs are lowered.”

StomaLife is a unique cooperative venture in the healthcare chain. Following in the footsteps of the Haga Hospital, the IJsselland Hospital in Capelle aan den IJssel, the Deventer Hospital, Twente Hospital Group (ZGT) and the Reinier de Graaf Gasthuis hospital in Delft have also started using the new procedure. Zilveren Kruis and VGZ are the first health care insurers to reimburse patients for the costs associated with StomaLife.

* Source: www.stomavereniging.nl

** Sources: Beautiful Lives, NIVEL Report Consumer Quality Index (CQI) stoma care 2013, Mediq Client Data and Analysis

Mediq successfully completes the sale of Pharmacies Netherlands to Brocacef, now ACM has given its approvl. Herewith Mediq focuses on the delivery of medical devices and care solutions directly to the patients’ homes, hospitals and other care institutions. Mediq has a leading international position and is active in 14 countries.

The transaction includes, besides the pharmacies and wholesale distribution of Mediq Pharmacies, also the divisions active in the delivery of medicines to hospitals and logistic services. By selling Mediq Pharmacies Netherlands, Mediq focuses on further growing its international position in delivering medical devices with associated care at home. Mediq also supports healthcare professionals by delivering medical devices with care and logistic solutions, improving quality and efficiency. Mediq’s international growth strategy aims to grow both autonomously as well as growth through acquisitions with Mediq’s ongoing ‘buy and build’ strategy.

Arthur de Bok, CEO: “Above all Mediq is the partner for patients, healthcare professionals and payors, dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes and keeping care affordable. Among others by enabling treatment in the own environment and by stimulating self management, we improve the lives of patients with a chronic disease. Mediq’s healthcare solutions, care processes and logistics contribute to keeping healthcare affordable.” 

Mediq develops innovative care programmes aimed at a higher compliance, the support of self management of patients and decreasing integral costs in the healthcare chain.  Our areas of specialty  include respiratory problem support, complex wound treatment, ostomy management and tube and intravenous feeding. We are also relied upon for the medical supplies delivery to people living with diabetes or incontinence problems. Additionally Mediq provides medical devices to care institutions and works together with healthcare professionals on initiatives to increase quality and efficiency in healthcare. 

International healthcare player Mediq has acquired direct to patient ostomy and specialty pharmaceuticals distributor Globomedica in Switzerland. Mediq already serves healthcare institutions in Switzerland. The acquisition is an important platform to expand into other direct to patient services.

Bernd Uhlmann, Executive Vice President Germany, Switzerland, Hungary: “Globomedica is a perfect complement to Mediq, and we warmly welcome the team. By strengthening our expertise we’re confident to provide the best healthcare solutions for patients and their healthcare professionals. Together we create an excellent platform to further expand in direct to patient healthcare services in Switzerland and continue to support Mediq’s international buy & build strategy.” 

In February Mediq closed an exclusive distributorship with Acelity in the Nordics. Recent acquisitions include Reininger, a leading homecare supplier in the Frankfurt area,  Germany, C. Maersk Andersen, specialist in supplying medical devices to GPs in Denmark, and Scholten Medische Groep in the Netherlands. Scholten Medische Groep provides medical supplies to healthcare institutions.  

Mediq and Globomedica have agreed not to disclose financial details of the agreement.

Up until recently, daily CTGs could only be done in hospital. CTGs record fetal heartbeats and uterine contractions. Now, pregnant women can do this at home, secure in the knowledge that their doctor is looking on from a distance. In the Netherlands, approximately 40,000 expectant mothers per year are eligible for this option. They are women whose unborn baby shows signs of intrauterine growth restriction, for instance, or women whose waters have broken prematurely.

Pregnant women are issued a Sense4baby, a small mobile CTG device developed by Telenatal, only when prescribed by their doctor, after which a Mediq Medisource nurse visits the expectant mother's home to explain how she can easily do the scan herself. The heartbeats of both the baby and the mother are displayed on a tablet, as well as any contractions the mother might have. The gynecologist analyzes this data in the hospital and contacts the mother.   

This is the first time Telenatal and Mediq Medisource have entered into a partnership. Mediq Medisource specializes in assisting patients in using medical equipment and administering medications intravenously at home.

Mediq Medisource is a division of Mediq, an international player in the healthcare industry. Telenatal specializes in home monitoring equipment for pregnant women with a medical indication and is the exclusive supplier of Sense4Baby.

ACELITY™, a global advanced wound care and regenerative medicine company, today announced a partnership with Mediq to exclusively distribute ACELITY’s advanced wound care and regenerative medicine portfolio in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The alliance with Mediq, a leading homecare and medical device delivery company in Europe, offers ACELITY access to Mediq’s specialized knowledge, expertise and network in the region and allows ACELITY to expand operations in the post-acute environment. 

“This new strategic partnership strengthens and expands our European presence by combining ACELITY’s industry-leading portfolio in advanced wound care and regenerative medicine with Mediq’s broad-based distribution network in the region,” said Laura Piccinini, President, ACELITY Developed Markets. “Mediq’s scale provides ACELITY with unparalleled access to healthcare professionals, ultimately ensuring that our products are more readily available to the patients who need them.”

The partnership leverages Mediq’s extensive experience in increasing access-to-care by offering integrated, high-quality healthcare services in a variety of settings including hospitals and care institutions, pharmacies and patients’ homes. Under the terms of the agreement, Mediq will exclusively distribute ACELITY’s advanced wound care and regenerative medicine portfolio, coordinating sales, orders and delivery in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. 

“At Mediq, our focus is on ensuring patients have access to the products and devices that will facilitate their healing whether they receive care in hospital, at home or in a care setting in-between,” said Arthur de Bok, Chief Executive Officer, Mediq. This partnership with ACELITY will allow us to strengthen our offering to the patients we serve by providing them a full range of leading advanced wound care and regenerative medicine products.”

Subject to the appropriate employee consultation processes now underway, the agreement is anticipated to be completed by March 1, 2016.

ACELITY L.P. Inc. and its subsidiaries are a global advanced wound care and regenerative medicine company created by uniting the strengths of three companies, Kinetic Concepts, Inc., LifeCell Corporation and Systagenix Wound Management, Limited. Available in more than 80 countries, the innovative and complementary ACELITY product portfolio delivers value through solutions that speed healing and lead the industry in quality, safety and customer experience. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, ACELITY employs more than 5,800 people around the world

For more information, contact:

Kathryn Skeen

Corporate Communications

Phone: +1-210-882-2067

Email: kathryn.skeen@acelity.com  

Caleb Moore

Investor Relations

Phone: +1-210-255-6433

Email: caleb.moore@acelity.com