TORONTO — xwaveEMR, Ontario’s first web-based electronic medical record, will be used by University of Toronto family medicine residents at a new teaching facility, opened by Trillium Health Centre and the existing four-site Summerville Family Health Team (FHT).
“With a single username and password, residents will be able access their patients’ charts from Trillium, U of T and all four sites at Summerville,” said Dr. Michael Kates of the Summerville FHT. “This is the kind of connectivity and data mobility that will be increasingly in demand as information technology becomes more pervasive in primary care and, in particular, as the emphasis on preventive and proactive care continues to grow.”
xwaveEMR, now adopted by Summerville’s 25 physicians, also connects them to Trillium’s hospital information systems. Patient information at Trillium is sent electronically to corresponding doctors’ desktops at Summerville. Doctors receive it in near real-time (compared with the three to eight days required for paper delivery) and tasks such as scanning have been reduced at Summerville by as much as 50-75 percent.
“Electronic medical records are becoming a necessity for practitioners entering the healthcare field,” said Chan Ghosh, Director of Operations at xwave Healthcare. “Experience gained using xwaveEMR will give residents a solid grounding in electronic patient charts as well as help them set benchmarks for practice efficiency and patient care.”
While at the new teaching unit, family medicine residents will have hands-on training using xwave’s EMR technology in a multiple-provider, family-practice environment. They’ll also gain in-hospital experience at Trillium, which is adjacent to Summerville. They’ll work side-by-side with allied healthcare workers whose scope of practice is team-based. This experience will help the residents acquire valuable skills that will benefit patients.
The Trillium-Summerville Family Medicine Teaching Unit opened July 1, 2009, with three Summerville physicians and several staff dedicated to the new site. Initially, the program will support four residents, a number that is expected to grow to 18 — along with undergraduate clinical clerks — by 2012.
This initiative is the first time a family medicine teaching unit has chosen to use web-based Electronic Medical Records in Ontario, and provides the physicians and residents the opportunity to conduct research using the xwaveEMR.
About xwaveEMR
xwaveEMR provides Ontario physicians with secure web-based access to GE Healthcare’s award-winning Centricity Practice EMR and PM software. Centricity is one of the most mature EMRs available and is relied on by approximately 30,000 clinicians worldwide. xwaveEMR is the only EMR to customize Centricity for the Ontario healthcare market and make it available in a hosted, application service provider (ASP) format; the solution is funding-eligible by OntarioMD and integrates easily with labs, hospitals and the OHIP funding framework.
About xwave Healthcare
One of the largest and longest-serving healthcare-consulting practices in Canada, xwave Healthcare’s 300 consultants are guided by a Medical Advisory Board of physicians who provide direction and counsel on a voluntary basis. Together they develop solutions and services that connect providers with patients and promote efficiency across the entire continuum of care.
About xwave
xwave, a division of Bell Aliant, is an Information Technology company that provides clients with Advanced Technology Solutions and IT Professional Services, including leading eHealth solutions. Through highly-skilled IT professionals, xwave plans, designs, builds, and delivers technology solutions that meet clients’ business needs. xwave employs over 900 people in offices in St. John’s, Halifax, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton, Summerside, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. More information can be found at www.xwave.com. xwave is part of Bell Aliant (TSX: BA.UN), one of North America’s largest regional communications providers. Through its operating entities, Bell Aliant serves customers in six Canadian provinces with innovative information, communication and technology services including voice, data, Internet, video and value-added business solutions. More information can be found at www.bellaliant.ca.