New partnership aimed to improve care for patients with overlapping heart, kidney, and metabolic diseases

TORONTO, Sept. 30, 2025 /CNW/ - A new initiative is aiming to improve care for Canadians affected by cardio-renal-metabolic (CRM) conditions, a complex and increasingly common combination of heart, kidney, and metabolic diseases. Led by University Health Network (UHN), the initiative focuses on supporting care teams, enhancing coordination across specialties, and exploring how digital tools can enable connected care while building capacity and improving data-informed chronic disease management.

An individual patient can have multiple CRM conditions, yet care is often delivered in silos, leaving patients to navigate multiple specialists, appointments and treatment plans. This approach can lead to gaps in care, less than optimal health outcomes for patients, unnecessary strain on people living with these conditions and increased pressure on the healthcare system. This new initiative seeks to address these challenges by developing a more connected, patient-centered model of care.

These interconnected diseases are among the leading causes of hospitalization and healthcare costs in Canada. Chronic conditions such as heart failure are among the leading causes of hospital admissions. Conditions like diabetes and kidney disease are also recognized as key contributors to avoidable hospitalizations.¹ Cardiovascular disease alone is estimated to cost the Canadian economy more than $21 billion annually in direct and indirect costs ².

This new initiative builds on the foundation of a 2022 collaboration between UHN and Boehringer Ingelheim Canada, which focused on improving care for people living with heart failure through digital innovation. That project leveraged Medly, a digital therapeutic platform, and to date has supported more than 2,500 people living with heart failure. It demonstrated how virtual care can improve access to healthcare, empower people, and reduce strain on the healthcare system.

Now, UHN and Boehringer are working on an expanded version of Medly, called Medly CRM, to support people living with the broader spectrum of CRM conditions. Currently in development, Medly CRM will integrate clinical pathways across specialties, build the necessary data infrastructure, and apply user-centred design to ensure the platform meets the needs of both patients and care teams. The goal is to enable real-time data collection and engagement to support more coordinated, personalized care. In addition to supporting clinical teams, the platform is expected to generate real-world evidence that can inform future standards of care.  

"Medly has shown us that when patients are supported with the right digital tools, they can manage complex conditions confidently and proactively," says Dr. Joseph Cafazzo, Executive Director, Biomedical Engineering and the Centre for Digital Therapeutics at UHN. "With Medly CRM, we're expanding that vision to support people living with overlapping heart, kidney, and metabolic conditions, helping care teams to build capacity while delivering more coordinated, data-driven care."

Medly CRM is supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Canada with the shared commitment to improving the lives of people living with CRM conditions and advancing sustainable healthcare solutions.

"People living with CRM conditions often face fragmented care that doesn't reflect the complexity of their health needs," says Dr. Rasha Eldesouky Abouelabbas, Vice President, Medical and Regulatory Affairs Boehringer Ingelheim Canada.  "By working alongside UHN, we're aiming to support a more coordinated, data-driven, and responsive to the realities patients face every day."

With development underway, the Medly CRM platform is expected to be ready for clinical adoption by 2027. As Canada's healthcare system continues to face rising demand and limited resources, initiatives like this represent a promising step toward more proactive, team-based care for people with complex, overlapping chronic conditions.

Source: CISION, New health initiative aims to improve care for Canadians with overlapping heart, kidney, and metabolic diseases