CONTACT
Mindy Warner Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. 816/512-2315 [email protected]
NEW INTERNET PROGRAM HELPS PEOPLE WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (July 6, 1998) -- Patient empowerment takes a step forward today with the launch of MSWatch, the first fully integrated, interactive disease management Web site for people with multiple sclerosis and their health care providers.
MSWatch www.mswatch.com works by electronically connecting people with multiple sclerosis to peers and medical professionals.
"The ingenuity of MSWatch is its fingertip access to an on-line multiple sclerosis community and the option of sharing personal health information with medical experts," said Craig H. Smith, M.D., Director, Swedish Hospital Medical Center Regional MS Center. "Using the Internet to maintain and improve health creates possibilities that never existed before. Every day health care providers and patients are more comfortable using technology and sharing information, which is why on-line health programs are increasingly in demand."
Heather, a 36-year-old wife and mother of three, uses MSWatch every morning to track her health. She logs daily injections of COPAXONE"š (glatiramer acetate for injection), a unique class of prescription drug therapy for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, doctor appointments and how she's feeling.
Armed with tools such as a personal health journal, electronic messaging system and an on-line community familiar with her disease, Heather knows she is doing all she can to help maintain her good health.
"MSWatch is part of my morning routine. Using it and taking COPAXONE"š give me a new sense of control over my multiple sclerosis," she said. "I admit I'm hooked on the chat sessions and the discussion groups. It's reassuring to know that doctors, nurses and other people who understand multiple sclerosis are easily available."
As with most chronic diseases, multiple sclerosis management requires a long-term, multifaceted approach that includes patient education, behavior change, drug therapy and frequent physician visits. MSWatch addresses each of these issues and collects information that pertains to patient satisfaction and compliance with disease therapy, quality-of-life issues and other topics important to people managing the disease.
MSWatch encourages patients and health care providers to jointly monitor the medical problems and successes associated with multiple sclerosis. Nurses and doctors can evaluate someone's condition on-line and provide confidential feedback via E-mail.
Peer-to-peer chat sessions and ask-an-expert discussion groups are other tools available at the stroke on a keyboard.
MSWatch was created by Teva Marion Partners www.tevamarionpartners.com and SoftWatch www.softwatch.com.
Teva Marion Partners is dedicated to developing solutions for people with multiple sclerosis. The company is responsible for marketing COPAXONE" (glatiramer acetate for injection), a unique class of prescription drug therapy for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.
Some patients have reported an immediate postinjection reaction characterized by flushing or chest tightness with heart palpitations, anxiety, and difficulty breathing immediately after using COPAXONE". In clinical trials these symptoms occurred rarely, lasted approximately 15 minutes, and resolved without further problems. The most commonly observed adverse reactions associated with the use of COPAXONE" are injection site reactions (redness, pain, inflammation, itching, a lump at the site of injection), flushing, chest pain, weakness, infection, pain, nausea, joint pain, anxiety, and muscle stiffness.
SoftWatch, founded in 1994, is a world leader and pioneer in the development of on-line personal health and disease management systems for the health care industry.
Prescribing information is enclosed.
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