LEADing Practices advance the awareness and adoption of digital health in Canada
TORONTO, March 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Canada Health Infoway (Infoway), in partnership with Accreditation Canada, announces seven LEADing Practice award recipients for their leadership in the advanced use of technology in clinical practice. The award is part of Infoway's pan-Canadian Knowing is Better clinician education campaign developed to generate awareness of the benefits of digital health in Canada.
"Every day, more and more of health care in Canada goes digital," said Richard Alvarez, president and CEO, Canada Health Infoway. "From creative ways to use technology for tuberculosis surveillance, to sharing health records that help clinical teams care for patients with complex needs, the LEADing Practice award recipients are helping to make effective use of digital health a reality and it is my pleasure to recognize them for their accomplishments."
A LEADing Practice exemplifies one or more of the five benefit areas of digital health and represents best practice characteristics for use in clinical practice: Learning from others; Exemplifying benefits; Accelerating adoption; and Delivering results.
Based on these LEADing characteristics, a selection committee of health care representatives from Infoway's Clinical Council and Reference Groups, Accreditation Canada, the Canadian Healthcare Association /Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, and the Canadian Pharmacists Association, reviewed and evaluated each submission resulting in seven LEADing Practice award recipients:
- Drs. Lamb, Mielke & Teal, Hamilton, Ontario
- QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
- ACCESS River East, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario
- Health Sciences North, Ambulatory Care Clinics, Sudbury, Ontario
- Central Hastings Family Health Team, Madoc, Ontario
"LEADing practices are noteworthy examples of high-quality leadership and service delivery in Canada," said Wendy Nicklin, president and CEO, Accreditation Canada. "On behalf of Accreditation Canada, I would like to congratulate all LEADing Practice award recipients."
Over the next year, these organizations will be sharing their LEADing Practices with other clinicians and health care leaders to help accelerate the adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada.
To learn more about the Knowing is Better clinician education campaign and the seven LEADing Practices, visit KnowingIsBetter.ca.
About Canada Health Infoway
Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians.
About Accreditation Canada
Accreditation Canada is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits health care and social services organizations in Canada and around the world. Its comprehensive accreditation programs foster ongoing quality improvement through evidence-based standards and a rigorous external peer review. Accredited by the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua), Accreditation Canada has been helping organizations improve health care quality and patient safety for more than 55 years.
BACKGROUNDER
LEADing Practice Initiative
About the LEADing Practice Initiative
The LEADing Practice Initiative is part of Infoway's pan-Canadian Knowing is Better education campaign designed 'for clinicians by clinicians' to generate awareness of the benefits of digital health in Canada.
Infoway worked with clinical engagement groups to jointly develop an online toolkit consisting of a variety of educational resources for clinicians, focusing on the following areas:
- Timely access to information;
- Communication and collaboration;
- Decision support and work flow;
- Efficiency and avoided duplication; and
- Information management and education
Building on the success of the campaign, Infoway partnered with Accreditation Canada to launch the LEADing Practice Initiative. The goal of the Initiative was to identify organizations across Canada that exemplify one of more of these benefits and use digital health to strengthen clinical practice and the quality of patient care.
LEAD represents best practice characteristics for the use of digital health technology: Learning from others; Exemplifying benefits; Accelerating adoption; and Delivering results.
Based on these LEADing characteristics, a selection committee of health care representatives from Infoway's Clinical Council and Reference Groups, Accreditation Canada, the Canadian Healthcare Association / Association of Canadian Academic Healthcare Organizations, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, and the Canadian Pharmacists Association, reviewed and evaluated each submission against the following criteria:
- Demonstrates one or more of the five benefit areas of digital health;
- Supports care management across the health care continuum;
- Enables continuous quality improvement;
- Inter-professional and patient/person-centred;
- Evaluated and able to demonstrate intended results;
- Adaptable by others; and
- Sustainable
The Seven LEADing Organizations
The following organizations were selected as LEADing Practice Award recipients:
Drs. Lamb, Mielke & Teal, Hamilton, Ontario
Drs. Lamb, Mielke & Teal's family practice understands the value of having timely access to clinical information. With an electronic medical record and access to a regional electronic health record, which includes key information from local hospitals, oncologists and Community Care Access Centres, providers are able to proactively manage and coordinate care for their patients.
QEII Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia
QEII Health Sciences Centre has significantly reduced duplication of administrative tasks and improved the efficiency of their Inflammatory Bowel Disease clinic by adapting an existing Cancer Care database to meet the needs of the clinic. Authorized clinicians now have web-access to patient data from multiple sources.
Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
Public Health Ontario Laboratories of Public Health Ontario has demonstrated clinical leadership in the development of a web solution that tracks and analyzes data to aid in the investigation, surveillance and management of patients with tuberculosis – providing authorized clinicians with seamless access to timely information across multiple jurisdictions.
ACCESS River East, Winnipeg, Manitoba
ACCESS River East, a primary care clinic, exemplifies a model of care that is collaborative and patient-centred. Their Hospital Home Program enables patients with complex care needs to remain in their home. Collaboration between hospital staff, home care and primary care providers is enabled through the use of their electronic medical record and access to Manitoba's provincial electronic health record, eChart.
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre has demonstrated improved decision support and efficiency through the development of the clinical information system, SunnyCare and SunnyCare Mobile, which also links to their patient portal MyChart – allowing patients, families and care providers timely access to information required to manage care.
Health Sciences North Ambulatory Care Clinics, Sudbury, Ontario
Health Sciences North – Ambulatory Care Clinics serving the North East LHIN in Ontario has leveraged their Clinical Information System to support the operation of three community-based chronic care programs. By linking this information system with the local hospital, care planning within the community begins immediately following discharge – improving the efficiency of patient care.
Central Hastings Family Health Team, Madoc, Ontario
The Central Hastings Family Health Team has demonstrated clinical excellence in the prevention and management of patients with diabetes. Their electronic medical record has been instrumental in their success, as it enables clinical decision support at the point-of-care and facilitates communication and collaboration between three rural communities.
SOURCE: Canada Health Infoway
Dan Strasbourg, Director, Media Relations, Canada Health Infoway, Tel: (416) 595-3424, [email protected]
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