Runnymede goes live with Meditech Expanse

TORONTO – By leveraging its partnership with Humber River Hospital, Runnymede Healthcare Centre has gone live with Meditech Expanse in just an eight-month timeframe, enabling the organization to move from a completely paper-based system to a fully electronic health record (EHR) solution.

“Our relationship with Humber provided us the foundation to build an EHR that would take our organization to the next level,” said Connie Dejak (pictured), president and chief executive officer of Runnymede Healthcare Centre. “By acquiring the Expanse technology, we are also now able to improve our care coordination and internal processes, as well as work more closely with Humber for the betterment of the community.”

Runnymede, a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital, quickly went live with many components of the HER, including CPOE followed by bedside verification. Since automating charting at the bedside, Runnymede has brought medication errors down to zero.

They have also automated food ordering, to more effectively monitor the dietary needs for their medically complex patient population. They now look to roll out Meditech’s patient portal to make it easier for patients and their families to engage with their healthcare providers.

Runnymede sends its lab specimens to Humber, as the two hospitals are less than 10 kilometres apart, to eliminate the need for a third-party lab service. Results are available within just one to two hours, as opposed to up to three days using the outsourced lab.

“We are very proud of Runnymede’s success right out of the gate,” said Humber chief technology officer Kevin Fernandes. “It demonstrates how, by working in close partnership with organizations that have already-proven processes, hospitals can achieve the great outcomes that come with closing gaps in care.”

As North America’s first fully digital hospital, Humber automates as many systems as possible. Its lab and pharmacy systems are just two examples. Within lab workflow, samples are taken at the patient’s bedside, labeled on the spot with a barcode printer, and immediately sent to the lab. Machines process blood and automatically enter results into the patient’s medical record. What once took several hours now takes less than one, from order to result.

Similarly, Humber has a closed-loop medication ordering process, enabling orders to be sent directly from the EHR to the central pharmacy, where a robotic system picks, packages, and labels medications with barcodes for bedside administration.

Humber’s recent move to Expanse has helped the facility to better connect patient care across the continuum by leveraging the latest innovative technologies to improve efficiency, mobility, and access to patient information.

“Moving to Expanse is transformative, especially for organizations like Runnymede that have been paper based for many years,” said Meditech’s executive vice president Helen Waters. “The impact of their EHR implementation has been almost immediate with positive outcomes in all areas, including patient care, internal operations, and billing. And Runnymede’s partnership with Humber magnifies the possibilities for getting even more benefits out of their systems going forward.”

About Runnymede Healthcare Centre
Runnymede Healthcare Centre is a dynamic and growing 206-bed rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital passionately dedicated to serving the community in the west end of Toronto. Its outstanding patient-centred care provides patients with a crucial pathway to recovery.

About Humber River Hospital
A longtime MEDITECH customer, Humber River Hospital is one of Canada’s largest regional acute care hospitals, serving a catchment area of more than 850,000 people in the northwest GTA. Humber recently celebrated its 5th anniversary as North America’s first fully-digital hospital – using complex algorithms, predictive analytics, and cutting-edge engineering to target improved clinical, operational, and patient outcomes.