Document management

Montreal hospitals integrate paper and electronic records

MONTREAL - Two major Canadian academic health centres are deploying integrated document management and workflow software at eight hospitals in the province of Quebec.

The hospitals are affiliated with the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, or CHUM, and the McGill University Health Centre, or MUHC. The new software, from Cincinnati, Ohio-based Streamline Health Solutions, will be integrated into an electronic medical record system that was rolled out in a prior phase across the various sites.

“This integrated document scanning and management solution will result in significant time savings for our clinicians and allow our hospitals to achieve enhanced efficiencies,” said Jean Huot (pictured above), CIO of the CHUM and the MUHC. “The valuable time saved in accessing and managing archived documentation can be reinvested with the patient.”

The two health systems currently use the Oacis EMR system from Montreal-based Emergis, Inc. Emergis is a subsidiary of TELUS, a major Canadian telecommunications firm.

Mark Groper, an executive vice president at Emergis, said the new software provides a consolidated view into a patient’s complete history of care and allows physicians to electronically review and sign document-based clinical records in Oacis.

“We are taking our electronic health record offering one step further, allowing healthcare providers to have immediate access to patients’ clinical data, be it scanned or electronic, through one single application,” said Groper, who added that the software works particularly well in hybrid environments, where electronic health records still coexist with paper.

This application leverages Emergis’ recently announced partnership with Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. Emergis has integrated Streamline Health’s accessANYware document management and chart completion workflow solution into its Oacis electronic medical record solution.

The integrated solution addresses clinicians’ need for immediate access to patient records in hybrid environments, where electronic health records still coexist with paper. CHUM and MUHC will be the first sites in Canada to deploy the integrated solution.

TELUS is working to become a leader in healthcare transformation in Canada, the company said. In January, 2008, TELUS acquired Emergis, further investing in its healthcare and financial services capabilities, building healthcare industry expertise and delivering innovative solutions.

Emergis, a TELUS company, has a strong presence in both healthcare claims processing and pharmacy management systems in Canada, with industry leading applications and services. It is a leader in electronic health record solutions for the exchange, integration, sharing and retrieval of electronic health information. Emergis’ electronic health records and information systems, combined with TELUS’ national network and hosting capabilities, are said to provide a platform for healthcare transformation in Canada.

About CHUM and MUHC
With more than 20,000 employees and 2 million visits per year, the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) are leading academic health centres, offering specialized and highly specialized medical care. Their mission includes patient care, research and teaching.

About Emergis
Emergis, a TELUS company, is a North American IT leader that focuses on the health and financial services sectors. It develops and manages solutions that automate transactions and the secure exchange of information to increase the process efficiency and quality of service of its customers. Emergis has expertise in electronic health-related claims processing, health record systems, pharmacy management solutions, cash management and loan document processing and registration. For more information on Oacis, visit www.emergis.com/solutions/health/clinical_care/default.aspx.

About Streamline Health Solutions, Inc.
Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. is a leading supplier of workflow and document management tools, applications and services that enable strategic business partners and healthcare organizations to improve operational efficiencies through business process optimization. The company provides integrated technology solutions for automating document-intensive environments, including document workflow, document management, e-forms, portal connectivity, optical character recognition (OCR), and interoperability. Streamline Health’s solutions create a permanent document-based repository of historical health information that is complementary and can be seamlessly integrated with existing disparate clinical, financial and administrative information systems, providing convenient electronic access to all forms of patient information from any location, including secure web-based access. For additional information, visit www.streamlinehealth.net.