Mackenzie Health adopts advanced technologies

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – Mackenzie Health has announced ICAT Healthcare – a strategy that will see the hospital propel its information, communications, and automation technology (ICAT) systems to a leadership position within the healthcare industry over the next four years.

With the recent addition of its new state-of-the-art, portable data centre (sometimes referred to as a ‘modular data centre’), Mackenzie Health is the first healthcare organization in Canada to acquire this kind of technology, and one of only a handful of healthcare organizations in all of North America to do so.

Currently used by technology giants such as Microsoft, Google and high security military installations, this data centre will ‘future proof’ Mackenzie Health so that it will be able to adopt a wide range of new and emerging technologies.

It will also support the work of Mackenzie Health’s Innovation Unit and enable the organization’s medical electronic record adoption to go from EMRAM 3 to EMRAM 7 in just two years.

The new Data Centre also helps Mackenzie Health to set the stage for future innovation that will see the Mackenzie Richmond Hill and Mackenzie Vaughan Hospitals to become a truly ‘smart hospital’.

This means having digital technologies that have interconnectivity between systems so that they share information to better support clinicians to care for their patients.

“A key aspect of our ICAT Healthcare strategy is to introduce the majority of new technologies at Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital well in advance of the opening of the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, so that staff and physicians at both hospitals will be well versed in the latest technologies,” said Altaf Stationwala (pictured), President and CEO, Mackenzie Health.

“This approach will enable both hospitals to share some of the most advanced technologies to enhance patient care delivery and safety creating a truly ‘smart hospital’.”

ICAT Healthcare will enable Mackenzie Health to support a variety of exciting new technologies, such as a new first-in-Canada GPS Mobile Wayfinding App and electronic kiosk system. It will also support a Bring Your Own Device program that will enable staff and physicians to receive secure Mackenzie Health email on their smartphones, tablets and personal computers.

Going forward, the ICAT Healthcare strategy will enable our staff and physicians to enjoy:

•  more time at the bedside to care for their patients;
•  better communication and tools at their fingertips;
•  faster response times; and
•  supporting technologies that help reduce human error.

ICAT Healthcare will also help to create an exceptional care experience for patients with:

•  integrated care delivery customized to individual patient needs;
•  enhanced bed-side care as clinicians can better interact with patients with the technology; and
•  enhanced communications for patients with special needs such as built-in language translation services and touch screen technology for patients with limited mobility.

The impact on the delivery of care at Mackenzie Health will be pervasive and help to establish new standards across the healthcare industry including:

•  immediate access to clinical data anytime, anyplace within the organization; and
•  clinical decision support tools that improve safety and quality of care, shorten length of stay, and reduce readmission to hospital.

“ICAT Healthcare will serve as a key pillar in helping Mackenzie Health achieve its vision to create a world-class health experience for its patients by providing our staff and physicians with world-class technologies to enable that care,” said Richard Tam, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Mackenzie Health.