PENETANGUISHENE, Ont. – Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, a 301-bed psychiatric hospital located in Penetanguishene, formed a partnership with Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) in Whitby to implement Meditech’s 6.1 Electronic Health Record.

“The goal of an EHR and a partnership with Ontario Shores in particular, was to enhance and standardize clinical care, and advance research using the shared Meditech system and a single, shared database,” Waypoint vice president of quality and practice, Linda Adams (pictured) said.

As Meditech was already used in Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, it paved the way for a future partnership between the two hospitals to launch the 6.1 platform.

To ensure effective and efficient use of resources in alignment with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Health Information System (HIS) Renewal Strategy, Waypoint teamed up with Ontario Shores to form an HIS partnership with Meditech. Ontario Shores was the first hospital in Canada and the first mental health hospital in the world to receive the prestigious HIMSS EMRAM Stage 7 award for having a completely paperless health information system.

“Our partnership with Ontario Shores and the support from Meditech was instrumental in the transition we had to the new system. We can’t thank them enough,” Waypoint president and CEO, Carol Lambie said.

“Waypoint is excited about the many opportunities that an EHR brings to the field of mental health research,” she added. “Using this technology will help improve patient outcomes, ensure our healthcare professionals have the most up-to-date and accurate information all in one place, and improve communication among doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and the rest of the care team, all helping us deliver even safer care.”

Lorraine Smith, vice president of corporate services at Waypoint, noted: “Clinicians, clinical information and IT managers, and other staff agreed Meditech had the mental health functional tools, support, and experience required to meet our unique needs. The ability to integrate and support various Ministry and healthcare reporting requirements were also factors in the final decision.”

Waypoint took a phased approach to implementation starting in Nov. 2015 and culminating with both inpatient and outpatient programs being live by May 2017.

“Meditech’s launch at Waypoint was completed in three phases, in each of the three clinical divisions, and thanks to a great team we have, we had a smooth transition,” said Jeannie Borg, director of clinical informatics at Waypoint. “Our regional programs were the first to go live in February and it only took days for staff to recognize the benefits of a paperless system, including more efficient readmission and documentation processes.”

Christine Parent, associate VP of marketing at Meditech, added that, “Meditech is committed to providing our customers the specialized tools that serve the unique needs of behavioral healthcare organizations.

Parent said, “Waypoint and Ontario Shores are leading the way in delivering exemplary mental healthcare to patients, and we are proud to partner with these organizations by providing a robust and integrated EHR to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care.”

Serving customers in Canada since 1981, Meditech is the leading EHR vendor in the country with 589 facilities. The Meditech EHR is also installed in seven out of ten provinces as well as in two of three territories.

About Meditech

Meditech is helping care organizations to reclaim their productivity, coordinate care, and do more for patients with its mobile Web Electronic Health Record (EHR). With 2,400+ customers, across 22 different countries, Meditech solutions are empowering users to provide higher quality care, with greater efficiency, to more people, at a lower cost. A leading EHR vendor with over 45 years of experience, Meditech is helping care organizations reach their clinical, analytical, and financial goals. For more information on how Meditech is transforming healthcare and building the next generation of EHR leaders, go to https://ehr.meditech.com/