Verizon Wireless, LifeWatch ink deal for heart monitoring service
Verizon Wireless signed a multiyear, multimillion dollar exclusive deal today with Rosemont-based LifeWatch Corp. to provide wireless service for its cardiac monitors for thousands of patients nationwide.
LifeWatch has worked with other providers in the past year, but learned "the hard way" that Verizon Wireless offered complete coverage, LifeWatch Chief Executive Officer Yacov Geva said during an interview.
"Telemedicine is absolutely critical for our patients, not just in terms of coverage," Geva said.
The company rejected two other providers to sign up Verizon for its mobile broadband service, he said.
LifeWatch provides Lifestar ACT Ambulatory Cardiac Telemetry service, which includes a device that attaches to a patient being monitored or tested for heart problems. The device uses a secure, high-speed wireless network called Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) 3G network, a mobile broadband service to send the data to a doctor or hospital. Monitors are used for one day or up to 30 days.
About 7,000 people on any one day nationwide could be on the monitor. About 60,000 patients have been with the service since it started in January 2007, Geva said.
Major hospitals, including the University of Illinois, Northwestern Memorial and Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove Village have participated in LifeWatch.
This deal also represents the first time Verizon Wirelesss signed an exclusive deal for such a service, said T.J. Fox, president of the Illinois/Wisconsin region for Verizon Wireless at the Midwest headquarters in Schaumburg.
Verizon has been involved with service to ambulances connecting to hospitals for critical care, for in-hospital wireless service as well as at-home services, Fox said.
"LifeWatch is on the cutting edge of heart monitoring," Fox said.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, it does offer LifeWatch a chance to roll out other new medical services with Verizon Wireless' EV-DO, third-generation high-speed network in the future.
"We're getting together with them (this week) to work on each other's resources," Fox said.