RMH offers digital, unified health care record

Ross Memorial Hospital, along with six other hospital organizations representing 14 hospitals in Ontario’s central east region, are partnering to deliver a new, digital clinical information system (CIS).

Once implemented, each of the 1.5 million people in the central east region who receive hospital care will have a single, unified personal health record across the partner hospitals.

The new regional CIS means:

• One digital record for each patient across seven hospital organizations in the central east region
• Patient access to a user-friendly and secure portal called MyChart to view their health information and upcoming appointments
• Implementation of evidence-based best practices across the care continuum
• Timely access to information to support clinical decision-making, including test results, medication information and other essential health information
• Improvements in patient safety features, including barcode identity validation at the patient’s bedside
• Less duplication and more efficient processes, contributing to a more sustainable health system

The six partner hospital organizations joining Ross Memorial Hospital in this major health care initiative are: Campbellford Memorial Hospital, Haliburton Highlands Health Services, Lakeridge Health, Northumberland Hills Hospital, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and Scarborough Health Network.

This collaboration represents the largest number of individual organizations joining together on the platform known as Epic in Ontario.

Epic will go live for all seven partner organizations in December 2021.

“The launch of Epic is the largest clinical transformational project in Ross Memorial’s history, says Kelly Isfan, president and CEO, RMH. "Implementation of the Epic CIS will streamline the ability for our patients and health professionals to communicate with one another, allowing for even more precise decisions about each individual’s treatment and care. Ross Memorial is excited to be part of this historic regional partnership as it will allow for patients and their entire care team to have real-time access to each patient’s health information in one place throughout their transitions between organizations and services. This initiative is going to transform the way health care is delivered in our Kawartha Lakes community and the entire region.”

Epic is one of the world’s largest electronic health records software companies, and their system has been adopted by hundreds of leading hospitals in North America and Europe, including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, The Ottawa Hospital, SickKids, and Mackenzie Health.