TORONTO – Canada Health Infoway, in partnership with Accreditation Canada, has announced seven LEADing Practice award recipients. These organizations were recognized 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.

A LEADing Practice exemplifies one or more of the five benefit areas of digital health (Timely access to information; Collaboration and Communication; Decision support and workflow; Improved efficiency and avoided duplication; Improved information management and education).

It also represents best practice characteristics for use in clinical practice: Learning from others; Exemplifying benefits; Accelerating adoption; and Delivering results.

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

Drs. Lamb, Mielke and 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 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.

(Pictured above: Dr. Adam Stewart and Central Hastings Family Health Team coordinator, RN Julie Page, display awards received for outstanding innovative use of electronic medical record technology in their Diabetic Management Program. The practitioners accepted the award in Toronto at the National LEADing Practice Initiative 2014 awards ceremonies, February 27-28.)

Over the next year, these organizations will be sharing their LEADing Practices with other clinicians and healthcare 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.