Print Edition

New solution helps with physical distancing in waiting rooms

By Anne Scott

September 30, 2020

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – In May 2020, with the COVID pandemic escalating, Northern Health searched for options to enable better physical distancing in common patient waiting areas. A Northern Health interdisciplinary team representing Laboratory, Medical Imaging, and Information Management and Information Technology (IMIT) investigated solutions. The team was led by Bjorn Butow, director, Clinical Information Systems, and Lisette Vienneau, regional director, Diagnostic Services. Read More

Tech allows community care nurses to make rounds remotely

By Dave Webb

September 30, 2020

OSHAWA, ONT. – The “virtual ward” project at the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) was pushed ahead of schedule by an unlikely force: the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s been an organizational goal for quite some time,” said Dr. Ilan Lenga, a nephrologist and chief information officer for Lakeridge Health, part of the Central East network. But COVID-19 was “a major impetus” to accelerate things. Read More

Flash storage helps McArthur Lab speed up lifesaving results

September 29, 2020

HAMILTON, Ont. – McMaster University’s McArthur Lab, which conducts data-intensive research on the genetic makeup of superbugs – including the SARS-CoV 2 virus that causes the Covid-19 disease – has installed high-powered flash storage from Pure Storage. The Pure FlashBlade solution provides the lab with 72 terabytes of digital storage and delivers data to the desktop much faster than conventional systems. Read More

Building a digital bridge between hospitals and LTC

By Elaine Mitropoulos

August 31, 2020

As COVID-19 amplifies the need for collaboration among healthcare providers, a unique partnership is creating a digital link between St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH) and St. Joseph’s Villa in Hamilton, Ont., to enhance the health outcomes of older adults transferred between hospital and long-term care (LTC). Read More

Montreal’s OROT solves COVID problems with new tech

By Norm Tollinsky

August 31, 2020

MONTREAL – A new research and innovation hub in Montreal is running trials of several ground-breaking technologies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hub was launched earlier this year by the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montreal and the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) to re-imagine the future of healthcare. Once the pandemic struck with full force, the centre, called OROT, quickly refocused its efforts on the healthcare crisis at hand. OROT means “light” or “illumination” in Hebrew. Read More

Canadian-made solution shown to improve hand hygiene

By Neil Zeidenberg

August 31, 2020

In North America about 5 percent of all patients in a hospital or LTC centre will acquire a hospital acquired infection (HAI), and some of them will die. In fact, 100,000 patients die each year in hospital from HAI and about 400,000 die in LTC – every year. Read More

ONMD plans to transform telehealth services in Ontario

August 31, 2020

TORONTO – Telesense Canada, a company that is both a developer of telemedicine technology and a provider of digital care services in Ontario, is launching the Ontario Medical Network (ONMD.ca). The new organization and platform will allow patients to connect with doctors online, at their homes and offices, and in the near future at pharmacies and labs, where they can receive prescriptions and have lab work done more quickly. Read More

Multi-site study tests virtual care for post-op patients

By Jerry Zeidenberg

June 30, 2020

Dr McGillion and Dr Devereaux

HAMILTON, ONT. – Researchers and clinicians at Hamilton Health Sciences are leading a multi-hospital study to determine if the numbers of discharged surgical patients who return to hospital in the first 30 days after discharge – a critical period for recoveries – can be significantly reduced through the use of remote monitoring technology. Read More

Sunnybrook and OMA devise an interactive platform

By Jerry Zeidenberg

June 30, 2020

TORONTO – Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the Ontario Medical Association are collaborating to extend the functionality of the MyChart patient portal, to support patients and doctors communicating online more easily, saving both time and effort. Read More

Northern BC health authority sets up online COVID clinic in two days

By Daniel Ramcharran

June 30, 2020

When a pandemic strikes, healthcare organizations need to react quickly. As a result, remarkable things can happen. Northern Health is the health authority serving Northern BC. In March 2020, it set up an online clinic and COVID-19 information line in only two days. With thousands of callers since inception, this service has been crucial for Northerners. Read More