Congratulations to the Wise Elephant and West Carleton Family Health Teams, first and third-place winners in Canada Health Infoway’s ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge, competing in the Patient Access to Health Information category against teams across the country.
Wise Elephant Family Health Team Dr. Sanjeev Goel and the team at Wise Elephant Family Health Team in Brampton, Ontario developed a patient portal that is updated automatically using data directly from the patient’s electronic medical record; ensuring information is always up-to-date and accurate without manual data entry. With immediate access to information such as lab results, medication lists and upcoming preventative screenings, the portal helps patients ensure all their caregivers have the information they need to give that patient the best possible care. It also helps to empower patients to manage their own health, by giving them quick and easy access to their health information and other resources in a format that’s easy to understand.
West Carleton Family Health Team The West Carleton Family Health Team from Carp, Ontario launched an online patient health portal, where any of their 16,500 patients can securely view information that is stored in their electronic medical record (EMR), such as lab results and immunization information. The portal also provides patients with tools to help them play a more active role in managing their own health. For example, patients can use the portal to track their weight, waist size and blood pressure. According to Director of Operations, Dave Sellers, the portal is an invaluable tool for patients – especially those who are managing chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes. In fact, patients log on from as far away as British Columbia and Florida to view and track results!
About the ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge
The ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge seeks to accelerate the use and spread of innovative solutions in health care information and communication technologies (ICT) in four key areas (e-Scheduling, Patient Access to Health Information, Medication Reconciliation and Clinical Synoptic Reporting) with the potential to improve health care quality and the patient experience in Canada. The three teams in each category of the ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge who had the greatest increase in users between January and October 2012 received Momentum Awards.