SignatureMD Outfits Affiliated Physicians With Panasonic's Revolutionary CardioHealth® Station

May 12, 2011 - PRLog -- Los Angeles, CA  – Panasonic Healthcare, through its affiliate Cardionexus, announced  today that SignatureMD, a personalized healthcare services company based in Los Angeles, California, has become the first concierge medicine company to incorporate Panasonic’s new CardioHealth® Station into its standard of care. It will now be available to SignatureMD’s entire national roster of concierge physicians.  

With CardioHealth Station technology in their offices, physicians will be able to:
•   Scan patients for hidden plaque build-up and increased thickness in the carotid artery wall – common signs of cardiovascular disease risk
•   Administer a quick, non-invasive, painless test from a portable device
•   Provide immediate results and a customized plan of action  

“Our network of physicians, both primary care and specialists, are eager to take advantage of our affiliation with Panasonic Healthcare and their accelerated access to the CardioHealth Station,” said Matt Jacobson, CEO of SignatureMD. “The CardioHealth Station empowers our physicians to be proactive in the early detection of disease and the long term health of their patients – precisely the goal of a personalized healthcare program.”

The CardioHealth Station, developed by Panasonic Healthcare, an affiliated company of Cardionexus, operates on a built in portable ultrasound system optimized to perform a non-invasive examination of the carotid arteries. It provides an automated real-time measurement of the intima-media thickness (IMT) and allows the user to search for arterial plaques. A touch-screen keyboard allows the user to input various parameters related to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. A built in calculator provides risk scores commonly used in a variety of medical environments (Framingham Risk Score, PROCAM Health Check Score, Reynolds Risk Score, Risk score based on the SCORE Project). This information is supplemented with an IMT measurement of the artery to generate a comprehensive report to aid the physician in assessing cardiovascular risk.

“As a primary care physician, I consider myself the first line of defense – and often the only one – for my patients in terms of preventative healthcare,” said Dr. Kenneth Rybicki, a primary care concierge physician with SignatureMD in St. Louis, MO. “With this technology at my fingertips, I can make screening my patients for cardiovascular risk a normal part of my exams – its makes being proactive simple, fast and affordable.”

James Ehrlich, a clinical associate professor (endocrinology) at University of Colorado, Denver, as well a senior medical advisor with CardioNexus, is a consultant to SignatureMD focusing on best cardiovascular preventive practices. Ehrlich will be educating physicians on ways to integrate the CardioHealth Station into clinical decision-making.

"I am enthusiastic that such a revolutionary technology is being embraced by SignatureMD,” said Ehrlich.  “As someone who has introduced 20 high tech personalized diagnostic technologies to several U.S. cities, I am a strong believer in this purpose and practicality of the CardioHealth Station.  That SignatureMD understands its value and is proactively providing its physicians with these devices, underscores its philosophy of providing preventative healthcare for the long term benefit of its patients. We are proud to have SignatureMD on board.”
Concierge medicine has many benefits to both patients and physicians:

Benefits to patients
• 24/7 phone, text and email access to physician
• Same-day or next-day appointments
• Unrushed office visits, often 30 minutes to one hour
• No time spent in waiting rooms
• Personalized care with emphasis on preventive medicine
• Coordination of emergency care or medical specialists
• Electronic medical records
• Some offer house calls (plus a trip charge)
• Some offer a wellness plan, including an extensive physical exam, counseling on nutrition, stress reduction and smoking cessation

Benefits to doctors
• Fewer patients, a fraction of the normal workload
• Longer, unhurried patient appointments
• More time to get to know patients, symptoms and their lifestyle
• More time to attend medical conferences and continue education
• Less risk of primary care burnout
• Not dependent on insurance reimbursements
• Potential to make more money than in traditional practice

By the numbers
3,500 concierge physicians in U.S.
300-600 patients per concierge physician
$2,000 average annual retainer fee for individual
*Source: American Academy of Private Physicians (AAPP)

About SignatureMD
SignatureMD is a California-based consumer healthcare services company transitioning primary care medical practices from a fee-for-service business model to a retainer segmented model. SignatureMD provides these practices with legal, regulatory, marketing and operations management support. SignatureMD develops customized, personalized medicine programs that deliver superior care to patients and add value to the physician-patient relationship. SignatureMD physicians are located across the U.S. and the company’s roster is growing daily. SignatureMD can be reached by calling 310-910-9385 or 866-883-8859, or by visiting http://www.signaturemd.com.

About CardioNexus Corporation
CardioNexus Corporation is an affiliated company of Panasonic Healthcare dedicated to reducing cardiovascular disease through early detection and prevention. CardioNexus’ flagship product, the CardioHealth® Station, is a new multi-modality initiative to advance cardiovascular health assessment for the prevention of heart attack and stroke. The advanced, automated features of the CardioHealth® Station enable physicians, especially primary care physicians and internists, to perform atherosclerosis imaging and cardiovascular risk assessment in their offices, without need for outside referral. For details and to view a demonstration video, visit http://www.cardionexus.com.

About Panasonic
Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America provides a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation , and the hub of Panasonic’s U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic Corporation of North America’s newly formed Healthcare Group brings together Panasonic’s expertise in a wide range of health and medical device technologies, including hearing care. For more information visit http://www.panasonic.com/hearing. Additional Panasonic information for journalists is available at http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom.  

About Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd.
Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd., headquartered in Matsuyama, Japan, is an internal division company of Panasonic Corporation  that specializes in the development and manufacture of healthcare products, including blood glucose monitoring systems, ultrasound diagnostic systems and hearing instruments. Founded in 1948, the company has been developing cutting-edge technologies in in-vitro diagnostic systems, medical imaging, hearing solutions, medical instruments and hospital systems to provide value-added solutions to healthcare professionals and patients. The previous corporate name was Panasonic Shikoku Electronics Co., Ltd., which was changed to the current Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2010.