Harvest Medicine Signs Agreement with Think Research to Improve Coordination of Medical Cannabis Care

NAPANEE, Ontario, Oct. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO, OTCQB: VVCIF) (“VIVO” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Harvest Medicine Inc. (“Harvest Medicine” or “HMED”), has signed an agreement with Think Research, a leading digital healthcare platform provider, to bring innovative digital healthcare solutions to its national medical cannabis care and education platform.  Harvest Medicine is the first medical cannabis care network to leverage this innovative technology.

“Our vision is to transform the medical cannabis experience for patients and physicians and be recognized as the trusted leader in medical cannabis care across the country,” stated Shekhar Parmar, Chief Executive Officer of Harvest Medicine. “Leveraging Think Research’s innovative digital healthcare solutions is a key part of our expansion strategy in Ontario. This will dramatically improve our ability to partner with the medical community and seamlessly coordinate care, resulting in a superior experience for patients seeking medical cannabis.”

The innovative solution, delivered by Think Research, combines several technologies which allow for enhanced communication and connections between family physicians, medical cannabis specialists, and patients.  Further, a Clinical Decision Support Tool for use at the point of care will facilitate individualized patient screenings to help standardize clinical decisions based on the best evidence for appropriate care.

“For the past decade, we’ve focused on translating evidence-based research into practical tools that help clinicians at the point of care.   We’re excited to help bring clinical best practices to this new and rapidly evolving healthcare segment”, said Sachin Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Think Research. 

“We have built our reputation as a leader in the industry by listening to the needs of our patients and medical community partners and delivering a truly patient-centric and education-focused service,” said Parmar. “The adoption of these technology solutions will strengthen our model by streamlining the referral process to us and ensuring our physicians have the tools at their fingertips to drive high quality clinical decision making for medical cannabis care.”

With the recent completed acquisition of Trauma Healing Centres, a multi-disciplinary clinic network in Eastern Canada, Harvest Medicine now has six physical locations across four provinces. Earlier this month Harvest Medicine also announced the imminent launch of a free, custom built, user-friendly, multi-media rich telemedicine platform that allows patients to conveniently access medical cannabis prescribing health care professionals and receive best-in-class education from the comfort of their homes via mobile phone, tablet or computer. As part of a national expansion strategy, Harvest Medicine will continue to leverage their physical locations and the soon-to-be-released telemedicine platform to develop new strategic partnerships so more Canadians have access to their patient-centric approach and can experience the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis.

About Think Research

Think Research’s mission is to organize the world’s health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. The company takes the ever-growing body of clinical evidence and health care algorithms to create software applications that drive high quality clinical decision making. Think Research’s solutions are provided through a secure, multi-application platform that is used by clinicians and patients at the point of care, and is deployed in over 1,200 facilities in Canada, the US and the EU, with millions of patients being impacted annually.  For more information visit www.thinkresearch.com

About Harvest Medicine

Harvest Medicine (“HMED”, more information at www.hmed.ca) is an education focused, patient-centric, network of specialty medical cannabis clinics where patients receive best in class education, care, advance and follow-up support as they approach cannabinoid-based medicine.

Growing to six locations in four provinces, aided by a recent acquisition of Trauma Healing Centres, and amassing over 22,000 active patients in under 21 months, HMED is one of Canada’s most successful and fastest growing cannabis clinic networks. Earlier this year HMED was acquired by VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX:VIVO).  With the additional capital backing of VIVO, and the imminent launch of a custom-built telemedicine platform, HMED is poised to aggressively expand their effective and highly scalable model across the country.

About VIVO Cannabis™

VIVO, based in Napanee, Ontario, is recognized for trusted, high-quality products and services. It holds production and sales licences from Health Canada and operates world-class indoor cultivation facilities with proprietary plant-growing technology. VIVO has a collection of premium brands targeting unique customer segments, including Beacon Medical™, FIRESIDE™, Canna Farms™ and Lumina™. In August 2018, VIVO acquired Canna Farms Limited, a premium cannabis company based in Hope, British Columbia. Canna Farms was B.C.’s first Licensed Producer and has several years of craft cultivation experience and expertise, as well as a significant patient base and positive cash flow. The Company is significantly expanding its production capacity and pursuing partnership and product development opportunities domestically, as well as in select international markets, including Germany and Australia. VIVO also operates Harvest Medicine, a patient-centric and highly scalable network of specialty medical cannabis clinics as well as a soon to be released free telemedicine app. VIVO has a healthy balance sheet with and is well-positioned to accelerate the growth of our business, in Canada and internationally.

More Information

Barry Fishman, CEO:  [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                                 
Michael Bumby, CFO:  [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                                 
Shekhar Parmar, CEO, HMED:  [email protected]                                                                                                                                                                                 
Website:  www.vivocannabis.com                                                                                                                                                                                   

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Barry Fishman (CEO and Director)

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding certain potential benefits, including the clinical impact, the benefit to patients, the ability to partner with the medical community, and the continued national expansion of Harvest Medicine, because of leveraging Think Research’s digital healthcare solutions. These forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements, including that patients may not find the services helpful, regulations around medical cannabis care may change, education and use of cannabis may change, and there may be operational and technical challenges in integrating and implementing digital health solutions.  A more complete discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company appears in the Company’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other continuous disclosure filings, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events, or for any other reason, other than as required by applicable securities laws. 

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