ConnectingOntario
For Healthcare Providers
The cSWO Program is foundational to Ontario’s health care transformation plan and helps put patients first by leveraging and building on these capabilities to accelerate the adoption and beneficial use of an integrated EHR. The cSWO implementation plan entails local change management and adoption delivery partner teams providing an integrated set of change management services to support access and adoption of digital health information, and the realization of clinical and operational benefits. The change management approach is based on two foundational underpinnings: stakeholder engagement and building capacity. The cSWO implementation and adoption is driven by local health transformation priorities and initiatives. By dove-tailing cSWO implementation, adoption, and change management with these priority transformation initiatives, implementation, adoption and change management targets are met, and key system and clinical benefits are realized.
Here's what some of our clinicians are saying
I really believe in ClinicalConnect and would like to see it expand. I've used it as a hospitalist at Guelph General Hospital where we’ve had numerous neurosurgical patients from Hamilton. Having the details of what was done in Hamilton was helpful—especially on night shifts when you can't ask the ward clerk to get a report for you.

Dr. Dan Finnigan
Family Physician, Guelph Family Health Team
Additional Information
Analysis & Research
Evaluating benefits is an important component of the connecting South West Ontario (cSWO) Program that helps to support and demonstrate the realization of health system benefits through the adoption of an electronic health record (EHR).
By pursuing the measurement of organizational value (improvements in the efficiency of care delivery such as time-savings and redirected resources) and clinical value (patients undergo fewer unnecessary tests, patients have improved access to care), patients ultimately benefit from higher quality, better informed clinical decision-making.
Locally, the cSWO Program uses a research-based approach to identify areas of clinical best practice that are affected by the use of the EHR, and works collaboratively with clinicians to understand the value of the EHR. This research does not include the use of any personal health information. The Analysis & Research approach is formally integrated with change management and adoption. It builds on existing relationships with health service providers (HSPs) and is intended to identify and measure organizational and clinical benefits at both the individual HSP and broader HSP-sector and cross-sector levels. It includes:
- adoption/usage metrics
- usability/satisfaction surveys
- case development that explains how clinicians/staff use the EHR in their workflows and how access to information results in improved patient care
- a survey project intended to uncover whether access to system-wide information improves clinical relationships across organizations.
For more information contact:
Julia Bickford
Manager, cSWO Change Management, Analysis & Research
julia.bickford@lhsc.on.ca
Case Studies
Project Benefits
cSWO is focused on enabling better care for people across south west Ontario. This means improved quality of clinical decision making; less reliance on patient and family recall; increased engagement of patients and their families; and improved clinical outcomes. The benefits associated with three dimensions of care (access, value and safety) are outlined in the framework below:
Improved Access
- Improve the breadth and depth of information available for patients across the continuum of care.
- Better access to services through enabling improved navigation across the health care system.
- Improved provider communications and care transitions across the continuum.
Improved Safety
- Improved access to important infection control information to protect clinicians and patients.
- Fewer medical errors.
- Reduced exposure to inappropriate and duplicate procedures/tests, medication errors, etc.
Improved Value
- Improved patient and user experience.
- Reduced duplication of laboratory and diagnostic tests.
- Reduced costs of managing paper records and efficient transfer of accurate information.
- Improved productivity with cost re-allocation/shifting, possible cost savings.