Southlake patients gain fast access to records, images

NEWMARKET, Ont. – Southlake Regional Health Centre has joined the MedChart network to make it easier for its patients to get and share their health records. Through MedChart.ca, Southlake patients are now able to go online to request and retrieve their medical records, diagnostic imaging, and any other relevant medical data generated over the past 10 years at Southlake.

Patients control sharing rights with their circles of care or family members, and can request corrections to their medical records all through the MedChart platform.

“We’re always looking for ways to deliver the ultimate patient experience,” says Gary Ryan (pictured), chief innovation officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre. “By partnering with MedChart, we are giving our patients a convenient, secure and streamlined way to view and share their hospital records with whomever they wish, all from the comfort of home, or anywhere they can connect to the internet.”

As part of this pilot project, Southlake is the first of several hospitals to join the MedChart network this year. During the pilot, the hospital will upload a patient’s health record directly to MedChart.ca when a patient requests their records through this online portal, enabling faster and more streamlined aggregation of health records than before.

Founded in 2015, Toronto-based MedChart is building Canada’s first consumer-moderated health information exchange via a patient-owned, institution-agnostic central record that can include a patients’ medical information from any Canadian healthcare provider.

“We are excited about the positive impact on patients and their families,” says James Bateman, CEO at MedChart. “Partnering with Southlake will connect patients at each point of care via the MedChart platform, enabling patients to connect to all of their health information generated by any hospital or clinic across Canada.”

According to Derrick Chow, COO at MedChart, “Southlake is a model for innovation in healthcare for the entire province and we are delighted to see MedChart launch here first. Such innovation is essential to bridge the gaps in today’s fragmented health information ecosystem, and we are looking forward to continuing this journey.”

This collaboration with MedChart is another example of Southlake’s efforts to put patients at the centre of their care, in this case by improving access to their health records. This pilot project is the first of Southlake’s projects to go live under the Health Ecosphere Pipeline Project – a project funded by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

“Our Government is proud to support innovative projects that create real benefits for Canadians,” said Kyle Peterson, Member of Parliament for Newmarket–Aurora. “FedDev Ontario’s support for the Healthcare Ecosphere Innovation Pipeline Project is an example of how Government, post-secondary institutions and research organizations can come together to develop innovative solutions for improving the well-being of Canadians and people all over the world.”

About Southlake Regional Health Centre

Southlake Regional Health Centre is a full-service hospital with a regional, clinically advanced focus. Southlake offers 380 patient beds and accommodates more than 110,000 visits to the Emergency Department, 30,000 in-patient admissions, and 530,000 out-patient visits each year.

About Medchart Inc.

MedChart (www.medchart.ca) is empowering individuals across North America to acquire, manage and share their official medical information online through their Consumer-Moderated Health Information Exchange network from any physician or institution. We are transforming the healthcare system by placing patients at the center, lowering barriers for patient-access to information, and providing a transformative approach to universal health data interoperability.

About The Healthcare Ecosphere Innovation Pipeline Project

The Health Ecosphere Innovation Pipeline is a multi-partner collaboration led by York University, and Southlake Regional Health Centre along with University Health Network (UHN). The partners work with businesses and other research institutes to develop personalized healthcare technologies and state-of-the-art enterprise solutions for customized health management and care. Technologies include, healthcare apps, medical devices, and big data platforms. These solutions will provide connected and coordinated care across the system by integrating previously segregated markets; helping patients with chronic disease change their behaviour; and, leveraging big data analytics to develop and commercialize predictive health solutions, leading to improved outcomes for patients and reduced health care costs.