February 08, 2012

More than 1.2 million patients in Eastern Ontario to benefit from two new ehealth solutions

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) and Hawkesbury & District General Hospital (HGH) today announced two innovative ehealth projects designed to better serve more than 1.2 million patients in Eastern Ontario.

In a provincial first, patients of The Ottawa Hospital are now benefitting from access to Ontario laboratories information system (OLIS) data through their clinicians thanks to the myTOH viewer. This means that important patient information will be available for clinicians to make treatment decisions within minutes or seconds compared to the previous hours or days.

OLIS is a cornerstone information system that connects hospitals, community laboratories, public health laboratories and practitioners to facilitate the secure electronic exchange of laboratory test orders and results. The ability to electronically share this information helps health care providers make faster and better patient care decisions.

The myTOH viewer provides a single point of access to clinical and non-clinical applications, from both inside and outside TOH. Using this viewer, clinicians and regional partners can access patient electronic health records, as well as up to 50 different applications, many highly specialized and treatment specific (e.g., cancer, heart disease).

The information provided through the viewer enables physicians to provide better, safer and faster decision making by removing the need to chase paper records and test results.

A second milestone initiative for patients in Eastern Ontario is a collaborative project between TOH and the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital to consolidate each hospital’s individual electronic health record (EHR) system into one common system.

The consolidation will increase the availability of clinical information across the region and the amount of clinical information within TOH’s EHR system. It will also provide clinicians with access to the full spectrum of a patient’s data including: consultation, laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and patient care reports.

Through the sharing of information provided by the consolidated system, the need for duplicate testing between hospitals is eliminated. Similarly, patient wait times will be significantly reduced and organization-wide efficiencies will save the health care system time and money.

“These projects each mark significant milestones towards improving patient care while supporting the government’s goals of increasing patient safety and better access to care in the province. It’s quite an achievement to know that more than 1.2 million patients in the Champlain Local Health Integration Network are experiencing better and more coordinated care thanks to eHealth Ontario initiatives.”
Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

“The ability to improve patient care through technology and innovation is the primary purpose of eHealth Ontario. These announcements today mark two more in a series of connections between electronic health information systems in Ontario.”
Greg A. Reed, President and CEO of eHealth Ontario

“Providing health care professionals with the information they need to make quick, informed decisions is at the core of the investments Infoway has made in every province and territory. Today we are celebrating a key milestone at The Ottawa Hospital. We are pleased to be a funding partner for this initiative and look forward to continued provincial deployments.”
Richard Alvarez, President and CEO, Canada Health Infoway

“The eHealth Ontario provincial lab viewer initiative enables our patients to be treated at The Ottawa Hospital, secure in the knowledge that lab results from the community are available to authorized clinicians at the touch of a button. This, combined with improved seamless access to electronic health records between the Hawkesbury & District General Hospital and The Ottawa Hospital, ensures that patient medical histories are more comprehensive than ever before, providing another successful step in improving quality and patient safety at our hospital.”
Dale Potter, CIO, The Ottawa Hospital

“By consolidating the two EHR systems into one common system we get a more complete view of a patient’s medical history. It also saves valuable time tracking down information from the other hospital or from missing important clinical information that may not have otherwise been provided. This is one more way we are improving health care and putting patients first.”
Marc LeBoutillier, CEO, Hawkesbury & District General Hospital

Quick Facts

• In an initial pilot project, 287 health care providers at TOH were given access to provincial lab results from community labs, ODB claims histories and patient records at their fingertips.
• Since then, an additional 300 clinicians at TOH now have access to OLIS data through the myTOH viewer – a first in the province.
• The TOH electronic health record system contains approximately 75% of all clinical information collected in the region.

Members of the media:

Heather Brown
eHealth Ontario
416-324-1540

Dan Strasbourg
Canada Health Infoway
416-595-3424

Hazel Harding
The Ottawa Hospital
613-737-8460

Martin Lacelle
Hawkesbury & District General Hospital
613-632-1111 ext.182

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