Southlake receives international acclaim from McKesson

NEWMARKET, Ont. – Patients at Southlake Regional Health Centre have benefitted from shorter wait times, a more seamless transition through the hospital, and improved health outcomes since the implementation of advanced technology to better track patient safety, quality and flow.

The achievements were recently acknowledged by the makers of the technology as the hospital became the first international recipient to receive the McKesson Distinguished Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence.

The award is presented annually by the McKesson Corporation – a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better – to a hospital or health system that has achieved great results in improving healthcare quality and patient safety through the effective use of McKesson technology.

Southlake President and CEO Dr. Dave Williams (pictured) accepted the award and a $5,000 cheque earmarked for the Southlake Regional Health Centre Foundation from McKesson Canada. For him, it is the meaning behind the award that is most important to the Hospital.

“We were thrilled to learn that Southlake had been the successful recipient of the 2014 Distinguished Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence,” said Dr. Williams. “For me, the award is a tangible symbol of our relentless commitment to excellence and to identifying new opportunities and technologies that can improve the hospital experience for our patients. It’s what we strive to achieve every single day in everything we do.”

Southlake won the award for the outcomes achieved through the successful implementation of the McKesson Performance Visibility project. Through the project, secure electronic boards similar in look to large flat-screen televisions are in use in all patient care areas, providing all members of the healthcare team with important safety and flow information at a simple glance.

Information provided through the boards includes the location of patients, estimated date of discharge, a given patient’s risk of falling, and whether or not a patient has been placed on precautionary measures to avoid the risks associated with infectious disease.

Over the past two years, Southlake has achieved tremendous outcomes for patients through the technology, including a reduction in the time it takes to admit a patient who has come into the emergency department for care. Overall wait times dropped by 18 percent, and the average number of patients waiting in the department dropped by 17 per cent.

On inpatient units, the healthcare team experienced 400 fewer daily interruptions and the equivalent of 12.2 hours in fewer daily phone calls related to room status and patient assignments, allowing more time for patient care.

MPV played an integral part in allowing better awareness of patients who are at risk of falling, and helped to reduce the total number of patient falls with associated injuries by half.

“Southlake has demonstrated innovation in patient flow management, improving its ability to provide its growing patient population with high-quality care in a cost-efficient manner,” said Jim Pesce, President of Enterprise Information Solutions, McKesson Technology Solutions.

The winner of the 2014 Distinguished Achievement Award for Clinical Excellence was decided at the end of October at a live competition in Charlotte, North Carolina. The eight finalists, including Southlake, were selected from a diverse group of applicants from across Canada and the United States who underwent a rigorous application process that involved multiple phases and objective evaluation.

The finalists were chosen by a panel of four industry experts based on the Institute of Medicine’s six aims of quality healthcare: safety, effectiveness, patient-centeredness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity. According to the McKesson Corporation and the final evaluation, Southlake’s application effectively addressed all six aims.

For more information on this year’s awards program, visit the McKesson Distinguished Achievement Awards website.