AIDSMD, Inc. Announces Revolutionary Approach To Optimizing Health Care for Persons Living With HIV / AIDS Business Wire
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AIDSMD, Inc. Announces Revolutionary Approach To Optimizing Health Care for Persons Living With HIV / AIDS

Business Wire - Monday, July 19, 1999


ATLANTA--(BW HealthWire)--July 19, 1999--Atlanta-based AIDSMD(R), Inc. is announcing development of advanced technology that will provide patients and physicians access to state-of-the-art management of HIV disease and AIDS.

AIDSMD(R) has developed the design for unique software that will interface with their website, AIDSMD.com(R), which is currently under construction. AIDSMD's patent-pending technology will organize and analyze data from historical and real-time data sources, including laboratory results, medical histories, lifestyle concerns, and HIV genotyping technology. This information will be reviewed by AIDSMD's Expert Advisory Panel, comprised of some of the leading scientists and physicians in the field of HIV treatment and research.

With AIDSMD's technology, physicians and patients will be given access to "virtual consults" that would otherwise be financially impractical and inefficient.

The data collected from each AIDSMD's subscriber will be stored in a secure database that does not contain patient names. However, individual physicians will have access to specific data from their own patients via an electronic "key" that is unique for each subscriber. The cumulative database will provide an invaluable resource to pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and individuals who may wish to examine specific disease outcomes in a "real-world" situation. AIDSMD(R) will offer customized data analyses for these subscribers.

Thanks to the pioneering efforts of early activists, many people infected with HIV are well informed about the available treatments. However, current debates center on when to begin treatment and when to change treatments. The current strategy involves treatment with a "cocktail" of at least three of 16 licensed anti-HIV drugs, from which at least 400 three-drug combinations could be derived. With the rapid pace of HIV-related research and development, the problem of sorting through this overwhelming amount of information has become a bewildering task for many patients and their care providers.

After two years of research and development, Kimball Johnson, M.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AIDSMD(R), Inc., and Terri Creagh, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, say they are excited to be closer to making AIDSMD's powerful set of tracking and management tools available to patients and physicians. Dr. Johnson, a clinical expert in HIV disease management for over a decade, developed the concept for AIDSMD(R), Inc. and AIDSMD.com(R) out of a need she found in her medical practice for a "bottom line" interpretation of the volumes of information available on HIV research and treatment. "Over the last few years, with the increase in the available treatments and the necessity of multiple drug regimens for effective care," said Dr. Johnson, "patients and their care providers are quickly becoming aware of the importance and difficulty of choosing the best drug combination for each individual."

Dr. Creagh is a clinical epidemiologist who is also Chief Scientific Officer of Clinical and Epidemiology Consultants, a highly specialized clinical research consulting group focusing on HIV/AIDS. She has been a widely published leader in the field of HIV research for 12 years. "With all of the options available to patients today, HIV has the potential to become a chronic, manageable disease like diabetes or other chronic illnesses. We can achieve this goal by forming partnerships that allow us to make the very best technology available to patients and physicians."

The multi-phased development of AIDSMD(R) software and its website will enable AIDSMD.com(R) to bring this complex but user-friendly technology to the public at a rapid pace. The first phase is targeted to begin beta-tests in selected Atlanta physicians' offices during late summer and fall of 1999. Development is also proceeding for a service that will facilitate screening patients for clinical trials of the newest potential HIV therapies. While the beta-testing is proceeding, modified versions of AIDSMD(R) services will be offered free-of-charge to patients and care providers.

The names AIDSMD(R), Inc. and AIDSMD.com(R) have been copyrighted. Patents are pending for AIDSMD(R) and AIDSMD.com(R) technology. While testing and development continues at an aggressive pace, AIDSMD(R), Inc. is still accepting support from potential sponsors and investors prior to public launch of its products.

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CONTACT: AIDSMD, Inc. President and CEO: Kimball Johnson, M.D 404/584-0270 or Vice President and CSO: Terri Creagh, Ph.D 770/392-4979 or Registered Agent: Kathy Jaconetti 404/877-0022
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Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1999. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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