QHR’s collaboration with Telus Health should drive Medeo adoption, says Laurentian

QHR’s (QHR Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSXV:QHR) collaboration with Telus Health could drive adoption of the former’s Medeo product, says Laurentian Bank Securities analyst Nick Agostino.

On Friday, Telus announced that it would collaborate with QHR on a Canada-wide open-communication solution that is intended to help in excess of 23,000 physicians use electronic medical records.

“Creating a solution that ensures secure and convenient communications between physicians across the country is an essential building block in our quest to improve Canada’s health care system and creating better health outcomes for all Canadians,” said Telus Health’s Michael Guerriere.

“Addressing the evolution of Canada’s health care system — often referred to as the largest social challenge of our generation, requires us to rethink the way we work and collaborate. This industry-led proposed collaboration with QHR to innovate and break down communication barriers through the use of technology will bring us another step closer to the future of health care, and is an investment in Canada’s digital economy.”

Agostino says the partnership will drive EMR adoption in Canada and will improve QHR’s offering by, for example, allowing its customers to use Telus’s Online Benefit Check service, which provides information about a patient’s drug insurance coverage. The analyst says he is waiting for more detail on the economic ramifications of the deal, but thinks there could be upside for QHR, particularly through its Medeo offering.

“As a reminder Medeo is a patient accessibility portal,” notes Agostino. “QHR makes the portal available for $130/mth/sub for the full suite, or $30/mth/sub for the scheduling solution; at this time it is unclear if Telus would be receiving an agency fee. Nevertheless the collaboration should help grow Medeo adoption (currently at >300).”

In a research update to clients today, Agostino maintained his “Buy” rating and one-year price target of $2.25 on QHR.

Disclosure: Cantech Letter’s Nick Waddell owns shares of QHR and the company is a sponsor of the site.

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