RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRA Health Sciences (NASDAQ: PRAH) announced today the enhancement of its COVID-19 Monitoring Program with the addition of at-home COVID-19 testing capabilities. Enabled through a collaboration with PWNHealth and Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ: FLGT), the testing capabilities expand PRA’s existing COVID-19 clinical monitoring, symptom reporting and management services that are available on the patient-facing Health HarmonyTM mobile app. Patients are supported throughout their COVID-19 journey – from education, exposure, testing and monitoring through recovery.
“Getting accurate diagnostic information into the hands of patients and their care teams strengthens patient relationships with their physician at a time when they need it most,” said Randy Swanson, President of Care Innovations, a PRA Health Sciences company. “Our remote patient monitoring platform and mobile health app, Health Harmony, creates an innovative connection to the most important part of any organization – its people.”
Available today, Health Harmony app enables employers, schools, payers, providers, and healthcare systems to help their constituents manage their health and well-being. Users can connect medical devices to their mobile devices to capture vital signs and other medical data, participate in video sessions with their physicians, and receive educational content. The Health Harmony app collects the data electronically and presents it to PRA’s monitoring center, staffed with trained nurses. Clinicians can then monitor patients’ health and recommend and coordinate appropriate interventions remotely. If clinicians recommend a COVID-19 test, patients can order an at-home testing kit from Picture by Fulgent Genetics directly through the mobile app. This end-to-end model enables patients to receive continuous COVID-19 care – all from the convenience and comfort of their home. Employers, health plan payers, health systems, and other organizations can be up and running with this cloud-based system in two to three weeks.
Critical to the test ordering capability are PWNHealth, a national clinician network that provides safe and easy access to diagnostic testing, and Fulgent Genetics, a provider of genetic testing solutions including at-home COVID-19 test kits through its Picture platform. PWNHealth supports more than 3,000 test types through its partnerships with over 80 CLIA-certified laboratories. For this initiative, PWNHealth will support Fulgent Genetics, which will supply the at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests, process the samples, and return the results to patients within 24 to 48 hours of sample receipt.
Picture by Fulgent is an emergency use authorization-approved at-home test built on RT-PCR based technology, which provides the highest level of sensitivity and specificity for COVID-19 testing. PWNHealth’s diagnostic testing infrastructure and its extensive network with laboratories like Fulgent Genetics makes consumer-friendly testing safe, accessible, and clinically actionable.
“We’re pleased to increase access to safe, effective, and easy-to-use COVID-19 diagnostic testing kits from Fulgent Genetics through PWNHealth’s network,” said Bob MacMillan, Vice President of Life Sciences, PWNHealth. “Coordinating care through PRA’s remote patient monitoring solution furthers our mission to empower people with important diagnostic information and enhance their engagement with their health and wellness journey.”
For almost a decade, PRA has been working to connect people to their health through their devices, in their space, and on their time. The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the industry’s transition to new models of healthcare and PRA continues to develop novel digital health solutions to provide access to appropriate level of care, whether this is in the clinical care setting or a clinical trial.
“We are excited to be at the forefront of innovation that enables our clients to adapt to evolving healthcare demands and help patients receive life-saving treatments,” said Kent Thoelke, Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer at PRA Health Sciences. “Our connected health solutions represent the future of patient care and the greatest opportunity to advance patients’ health.”
For more information about PRA’s COVID-19 monitoring program, please visit workforce health and safety page from Care Innovations.
About PRA Health Sciences
PRA Health Sciences is one of the world’s leading global contract research organizations by revenue, providing outsourced clinical development and data solution services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. PRA’s global clinical development platform includes more than 75 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, Australia and the Middle East and more than 17,500 employees worldwide. Since 2000, PRA has participated in approximately 4,000 clinical trials worldwide. In addition, PRA has participated in the pivotal or supportive trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration or international regulatory approval of more than 95 drugs. To learn more about PRA, please visit www.prahs.com.
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About PWNHealth
PWNHealth is a national clinician network working to improve early detection and prevention of disease using advanced diagnostics and telehealth. Our solutions provide the clinical, legal, and technological framework to facilitate population-scale testing across key healthcare markets in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. PWN is supporting over 45 national COVID-19 testing programs and have managed more than 10 million COVID-19 tests through our platform. We believe that empowering people with convenient access to clinically actionable testing has the power to change lives, improve outcomes, and create a healthier world. PWN is backed by leading growth equity firms Spectrum Equity and the Blue Venture Fund (BVF). To learn more about PWNHealth, visit www.pwnhealth.com. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Medium.
About Fulgent Genetics
Fulgent Genetics’ proprietary technology platform has created a broad, flexible test menu and the ability to continually expand and improve its proprietary genetic reference library while maintaining accessible pricing, high accuracy and competitive turnaround times. Combining next generation sequencing (“NGS”) with its technology platform, the company performs full-gene sequencing with deletion/duplication analysis in an array of panels that can be tailored to meet specific customer needs. Since March 2020, the company has commercially launched several tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”), including NGS and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (“RT-PCR”) - based tests. A cornerstone of the company’s business is its ability to provide expansive options and flexibility for all clients’ unique testing needs through a comprehensive technology offering including cloud computing, pipeline services, record management, web portal services, clinical workflow, sequencing as a service and automated lab services.