Meridian Holdings' CGI Communications Services Subsidiary, Inks a Joint Marketing and Teaming Agreement With Telemedicine Refere
June 01 2004 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Meridian Holdings' CGI Communications Services Subsidiary, Inks a
Joint Marketing and Teaming Agreement With Telemedicine Reference
Center Ltd. LOS ANGELES, June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Meridian
Holdings, Inc., (OTC:MRDH) (BULLETIN BOARD: MRDH) , announced today
that its CGI Communications Services, Inc. (CGI) subsidiary, has
entered into a teaming and joint marketing agreement with
Telemedicine Reference Center Ltd., (TRCL) located in Dhaka,
Bangladesh. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will
jointly market and promote to current and prospective customers the
sale of their complementary and compatible products for use in
Telehealth and Telemedicine, as well as supporting the pursuit of
mutually advantageous business opportunities, in the global
telemedicine arena. TRCL specifically seeks to work with CGI in
integrating and implementing the ICE(TM) software product suite in
Bangladesh and other Far East countries, in order to harness the
advanced efficiencies and capabilities of current medical,
information, and communications technologies built into ICE(TM)
Electronic Health Record and Telemedicine software, to improve the
delivery and affordability of health care, both primary and
specialized, in rural populations world wide. The joint team of
TRCL and CGI Communications, Inc. are setting up pilot rural
medical centers in Bangladesh under the "Integrated Rural Health
Information System" (IRHIS) project of TRCL in Bangladesh. "After
many years of research and development in telehealthcare sector,
TRCL is teaming up with leading and potential technology
corporations for a low-cost turn-key e-Healthcare solution for
developing countries. We are very proud to be working with CGI
Communications Services, Inc., whose Electronic Health Record and
associated Telehealth solutions, have greater economy through the
use of low cost technology, robust and innovative software, and
portability of equipment with an average turn-key end-user
e-healthcare system at a cost of less than $10,000, which is a
prime objective of TRCL. We project that the combined e-healthcare
system of CGI Communications Services, Inc. and TRCL will be more
cost-effective than many of the existing systems that are currently
available, and will fit the budget of developing countries, whose
need for such a solution is significant, yet limited in respective
market for prohibitive cost," said Dr. Zakir, President and CEO of
TRCL. "We are enthusiastic about the potential represented in this
agreement, which is designed to support classic and customized
applications and create mutually advantageous business
opportunities that will demonstrate the exceptional flexibility of
the ICE(TM) Electronic Health Record and Integrated Rural Health
Information System (IRHIS) of TRCL among predisposed end-users,
especially providers of healthcare services in the developing
nations," said Dr. Dike, Chairman and CEO of MRDH. About
Telemedicine Reference Center Ltd. (TRCL) Telemedicine Reference
Center Ltd. http://www.trclcare.com/, headed by Dr. Sikder M.
Zakir, provides low-cost technological and medical solutions to
healthcare organizations in developing countries and has pioneered
development of international teleconsultation services in
Bangladesh. TRCL is implementing an ambitious integrated rural
health information system (IRHIS) in Bangladesh, where rural
doctors will be provided with expert medical consultative services
from capital city Dhaka
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2288619.stm). Although it is
a privately funded project, Government of the People's Republic of
Bangladesh is playing a significant role in IRHIS program
implementation. Under IRHIS project, TRCL is deploying 64 rural
medical centers in all 64 districts of Bangladesh during first
phase. Each rural center consists of a physician's practicing
office, a pathology laboratory and a pharmacy retail store, which
will be managed and operated under a central network system through
IRHIS Portal. About CGI Communications Services, Inc. CGI
Communications Services, Inc., with place of business located at
900 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, California, specializes
in providing cost-effective turnkey support for implementation and
operation of Telemedicine and other information technology services
in health care and associated environments, including providers at
all levels, insurance carriers, pharmaceutical and clinical
research. CGI's goal is to serve as a one-stop-shop for turnkey
solutions, including hardware, software and support services,
provided in the "application service model" and requiring minimal
investment by the client. Current product/service lines available
from CGI include: a). InterCare Clinical Explorer [ICE], a product
of InterCare DX, Inc. (ICCO), -- a scalable electronic medical
charting and Telemedicine software solution with data-sharing
capabilities, designed by clinicians and medical informatics
professionals to integrate workflow, eliminate costly errors, while
fulfilling all administrative, billing and compliance requirements;
b). Portable Record [PR-ICE], based on a device designed to be
carried by all insured persons and incorporating biometric
authentication for access to health care services and medical
records; and a full menu of back-office support services to
increase administrative accuracy and efficiency and c). Patient
Centric Web Portal for access to some aspect of patient medical
record via secure Internet web portal, anytime anywhere. About
InterCare DX, Inc. InterCare DX, Inc. an affiliate of Meridian
Holdings, Inc. (OTC:MRDH) (BULLETIN BOARD: MRDH) , developed and
markets under an exclusive value-added reseller agreement with
Meridian Holdings, Inc., InterCare Clinical Explorer (TM)
(ICE(TM)), an innovative, robust and totally scalable Electronic
Health Record and Telemedicine software application, designed to
integrate every aspect of the healthcare enterprise. InterCare
provides implementation and support for the ICE(TM) software
product suite, which is used to document and track inpatient and
outpatient diagnoses and treatment modalities in various healthcare
environments, ranging from individual practices to entire hospital
systems. For more information about the company and its products
and services, visit http://www.intercare.com/. About Meridian
Holdings, Inc. Meridian Holdings, Inc. is a Healthcare Services and
Technology Company. Meridian's network of affiliated companies is
designed to encourage maximum leverage of information technology,
operational excellence, industry expertise, and synergistic
business opportunities. Meridian is committed to building
shareholder value by positioning affiliated companies as
independent business entities in which Meridian shareholders enjoy
equity participation. Learn more about the company and its
affiliated entities, including CGI Communications Services, Inc.
and InterCare DX, Inc. by visiting Meridian's web site at
http://www.meho.com/. NOTE: Statements in this news release that
are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and any amendments thereto. Material that is
forward-looking may contain statements about expected future events
and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature.
Editors and investors are cautioned that such forward-looking
statements invoke risk and uncertainties that may cause the
Company's results to differ from such forward-looking statements.
These include, without limitation, economic, competitive,
governmental, technological and other factors discussed in the
statements and/or in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. For further information, please contact: Dr.
Anthony C. Dike of Meridian Holdings, Inc., +1-213-627-8878; or Dr.
Sikder M. Zakir of Telemedicine Reference Center Ltd.,
+880-173-008475. DATASOURCE: Meridian Holdings, Inc. CONTACT: Dr.
Anthony C. Dike of Meridian Holdings, Inc., +1-213-627-8878; or Dr.
Sikder M. Zakir of Telemedicine Reference Center Ltd.,
+880-173-008475 Web site: http://www.trclcare.com/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2288619.stm
http://www.intercare.com/ http://www.meho.com/
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