New Brunswick, Canada, September 26, 2017 -- The evolution of Medtronic from a medical device company into a global healthcare solutions provider has taken another step forward.

A year ago, Medtronic Integrated Health Solutions (IHS) started working with Canada’s Horizon Health Network to advise and consult with the heart surgery department at Horizon’s New Brunswick Heart Centre (NBHC) — all with the goal of improving operating efficiency and treating more patients.

I am confident this will be a great success story.

Janine Doucet New Brunswick Heart Center

“I am confident this will be a great success story,” said Janine Doucet, Administrative Director at New Brunswick Heart Centre at the outset of the project.

Signs of that success can already be seen.

Within six months, Medtronic — using its expertise in clinical and operational process — along with teams from NBHC have managed to make a sizable impact throughout its hospital network.

Together, they have managed to increase operating room capacity by 14 percent and reducing average wait times by 44 percent.

“Initially the process was intimidating,” said Michelle Brodersen, resource nurse with 5B North Cardiac Services at the New Brunswick Heart Centre. “But as I got more involved in the project, I got to see how one small change can make a huge impact – not just on our workload, but on patients’ lives.”

Increased Access to Care at 1 Year

The Canadian standard for outpatient procedures calls for patients to receive surgery within six weeks (42 days) of a recommendation from their physician. Before signing on with Medtronic IHS, the median wait time for outpatient surgery at NBHC was 118 days, more than double the recommended standard.

“NBHC has already seen improvement in wait times since Medtronic came on board,” said Melissa Stark, a Process Improvement Facilitator with Horizon Health Network

Work in the heart surgery department is just the first phase of the partnership; Medtronic IHS will also be involved in advising electrophysiology labs, cardiac catheterization labs, as well as the ECG department and the hospital’s Cardiac Outpatient Clinic.

"We are honored to partner with Horizon Health Network on this project," said Neil Fraser, president of Medtronic Canada. “Similar Medtronic collaborations in Europe and in other parts of the world have had significant impact on patient access, and we look forward to partnering with Horizon to help it achieve its patient-centered objectives in New Brunswick."

PARTNERS DELIVER ON COMMITMENT TO PATIENTS

As the partnership between NBHC and Medtronic continues to gain momentum – it’s patients that remain the primary beneficiaries.

"The New Brunswick Heart Centre has achieved excellent clinical outcomes through great research, and continuously implementing global best practices that contribute to patient health and satisfaction," said Dr. Vernon Paddock, Medical Director of the New Brunswick Heart Centre. "This project helps enhance patient access to care, and honor our commitment to deliver the highest quality cardiovascular care possible."

”This is only the beginning of the journey,” said Omar Ishrak, Chairman and CEO of Medtronic during a visit to New Brunswick. ”This is a model that we can apply to other institutions in other provinces. Not only in Canada, but around the world.”

The NBHC is the only heart clinic serving New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, seeing more than 17,000 patients and performing more than 5,500 interventional heart procedures every year.