YMS, Mohawk partner to reduce admin tasks for doctors

HAMILTON, Ont. – YMS and Mohawk College have partnered to develop a reimagined billing application that will support healthcare providers by introducing much needed automation and reducing the time they spend on administrative tasks.

Based in Toronto, YMS provides electronic medical records (EMR) management and healthcare billing software for specialists and community care physicians.

The family-owned health IT company has been hosting physicians on the cloud for over 20 years. YMS will be working with MEDIC, Mohawk’s mHealth and eHealth Development and Innovation Centre to build a mobile focused billing platform to better support today’s fast paced provider.

“In collaboration with our clients YMS is excited to be designing a progressive and relevant solution which offers the busy healthcare professional of today the flexibility and efficiency they require,” says Andrea Flint, director and managing partner at YMS. “We’ve been working with MEDIC for many years, and we’re excited to continue that relationship to support further efficiency for today’s healthcare providers.”

According to a survey conducted by The Canadian Medical Association, doctors spend an average of seven hours per week on indirect patient care (e.g., charting, reports, phone calls, meeting patients’ family), 2.62 hours per week on administration, and just under two hours per week on managing their practice.

The MEDIC research team will work with YMS to redevelop its billing application into a mobile cloud-based tool with an efficient workflow, a secure system, and a modular framework to enable successful integration with the YMS EMR. MEDIC will also help the company with the optimization of the physician workflow by adding intelligence and designing a solution delivering an upgraded experience focused on capturing data at the point of care.

The project will employ two Mohawk College information technology student co-ops each semester throughout the three years, working closely with a team of four digital health professionals from MEDIC. This will result in an outstanding internship opportunity for 18 co-op terms. At the end of the project, YMS anticipates hiring four new employees to meet the anticipated demand for their new product.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with YMS to develop the next generation of their billing system,” says Doug Ward (pictured), general manager of MEDIC. “MEDIC’s technical expertise in digital health development, especially in mobile design and health data privacy and interoperability will help YMS move to a more dynamic billing technology for the benefit of the company and its physicians and clinic administrators.”

The three-year project is funded through an Applied Research and Development Grant of $450,000 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).