Universal Compliance Management Service Provides Improved, Efficient Patient Care

SAN DIEGO, CA, Aug 1, 2012–ResMed Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of sleep and respiratory medical equipment, today announced that it has acquired an innovative data services technology provider, Umbian Inc. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Umbian offers a comprehensive patient compliance management solution called U-Sleep, which monitors continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices and provides a suite of interactive follow-up services for healthcare providers.

Umbian’s U-Sleep – A Novel Compliance Management Solution
CPAP therapy is the “gold standard” of treatment for sleep apnea, a highly prevalent condition that can have significant negative health impacts when left untreated. Abundant research has shown that early follow-up with patients is key to increasing compliance rates, and the recent technological advance of remote monitoring is a proven aid in successful follow-up. However, effective follow-up can be labor-intensive and time-consuming for home medical equipment (HME) providers, and many of them struggle to balance time between follow-up activities and their many other responsibilities. U-Sleep overcomes these challenges by providing an original and flexible compliance solution that monitors CPAP device usage and helps HMEs to coach their patients during their initial acclimatization and ongoing therapy.

Greater Value and Efficiency for HME Provider Businesses
For HME providers, U-Sleep is an effective tool to reduce cost and improve business efficiency. U-Sleep supports CPAP devices from the leading CPAP manufacturers so that usage data can be consolidated and viewed from one software interface. The technology is able to assess a patient’s compliance using a flexible set of rules that have been set up for that individual and provide immediate notification of compliance outcomes via email, phone or text message. 
U-Sleep's simple yet powerful design also provides multiple reporting options tailored to the varying needs of CPAP providers, patients, referring physicians, employers and payors.

Automated patient outreach features reduce the labor and material expenditures associated with live follow-up and also help providers to establish more uniform patient management protocols across their business. Additionally, users can customize U-Sleep’s compliance parameters based on a variety of insurance requirements. “U-Sleep can help our HME partners to streamline their processes and distinguish their business to referral sources by documenting higher compliance rates and effective treatment protocols,” stated Raj Sodhi, president and co-founder, Umbian.

 “With U-Sleep, our goal is to minimize our customers’ technology management requirements so they can focus on other priorities. Most importantly, U-Sleep helps our customers provide a higher quality of care for better patient outcomes. When leveraged as part of a comprehensive sleep therapy program, U-Sleep can help patients achieve compliance and improve their overall health,” Sodhi added.

“One of the biggest issues facing our HME partners is competitive bidding and reimbursement changes. The resulting pressure this places on HME businesses means that we are all continually looking for ways to decrease the cost of health care and improve profitability – and sleep therapy is one of the areas that is affected the most. By providing a scalable solution for compliance outreach, we are taking a significant step in supporting our HME partners to drive efficiencies and cost reduction,” said Luke Maguire, director, healthcare informatics marketing, ResMed Americas. “We also understand that our customers use products from a range of manufacturers, and we believe this is one of the strengths and key areas of value of the U-Sleep platform. U-Sleep will continue to support devices and the transfer of compliance data from therapy devices manufactured by other companies.”

For more information about U-Sleep, visit U-Sleep.com

For more information about the impact of patient follow-up on compliance, please refer to the following research:

• Budhiraja R, Parthasarathy S, Drake CL, Roth T, Sharief I, Budhiraja P, Saunders V, Hudgel DW. Early CPAP use identifies subsequent adherence to CPAP therapy. Sleep 2007;30(3):320-324.
• Sin DD, Mayers I, Man GC, Pawluk L. Long-term compliance rates to continuous positive airway pressure in obstructive sleep apnea. Chest 2002;121(2):430-435.

About ResMed
ResMed is a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of medical products for the diagnosis, treatment and management of respiratory disorders, with a focus on sleep-disordered breathing. The company is dedicated to developing innovative products to improve the lives of those who suffer from these conditions and to increasing awareness among patients and healthcare professionals of the potentially serious health consequences of untreated sleep-disordered breathing. For more information on ResMed, visit www.resmed.com.

IR Contact:          Constance Bienfait                          PR Contact:         Zabrina Doerck
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