New health initiative aims to improve care for Canadians 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.

About University Health Network (UHN)
UHN is Canada's hospital. With 10 sites and more than 44,000 TeamUHN members, UHN consists of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, The Michener Institute of Education and West Park Healthcare Centre. As Canada's top research hospital, the scope of biomedical research and complexity of cases at UHN have made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. UHN has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in neurosciences, cardiology, transplantation, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. UHN is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. For more information, visit: www.uhn.ca

Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry's top investors in research and development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies that can improve and extend lives in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. More than 53,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable tomorrow. The Canadian headquarters of Boehringer Ingelheim was established in 1972 in Montreal, Quebec and is now located in Burlington, Ontario. Boehringer Ingelheim employs approximately 500 people across Canada. Learn more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/ca

References
^{1 Canadian Institute for Health Information. Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions
Hospitalizations. https://www.cihi.ca/en/indicators/ambulatory-care-sensitive-conditions-hospitalizations}

^{2 Heart & Stroke Foundation. Connected by the Numbers. https://www.heartandstroke.ca/articles/connected-by-the-numbers}

SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd.

Media contact: Ana Fernandes, University Health Network, 437 216 4597; Pilar Iglesias, Boehringer Ingelheim Canada, [email protected], 647-271-4717