Mental Health Hospitals in Whitby, Ottawa and Simcoe County Offer Shared Integrated Health Information System

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores), The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (The Royal) and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (Waypoint) have implemented a unified and upgraded health information system (HIS) to provide seamless care to patients across the three hospitals.

The partnership will be upgrading to the latest version of Meditech Expanse and Web Ambulatory, enabling improved system access and clinical workflows, resulting in better patient experiences.

The three mental health hospitals collectively treat 3,200 inpatients and 300,000 outpatients annually and collaborated to use the electronic health record (EHR) to drive quality improvement and support clinical research over the past few years. The collaboration has reduced unnecessary variability in mental health care through the implementation of standardized clinical best practices.

The innovative upgrade provides a web-based solution to improve transitions of care in the patient’s health journey, population health initiatives, patient engagement strategies and access to care using virtual visits. Clinicians will have an improved, streamlined system that enhances opportunities for collaboration and research while improving efficiency.

The advanced technology data centre, hosted by Waypoint, is designed to improve both the patient and clinician experience.

“The upgraded electronic health system provides our clinicians with better functionality for improved workflow that will ultimately improve patient outcomes and experiences, save time and allow them access to the EHR via the web,” says Carol Lambie, President and CEO at Waypoint.

Expanse reaches across the care continuum and pulls in all the data clinicians require to see the big picture and treat the whole patient. 

The hospitals are also implementing Meditech Web Ambulatory, a module that will enable all outpatient clinicians to have improved care flow through its mobile, flexible and intuitive design. It provides improved features including virtual visits allowing the patient to receive care wherever, whenever. The Meditech Web Ambulatory patient registries and surveillance solutions provide clinicians with meaningful alerts, enabling them to monitor at-risk patients and provide early, proactive interventions. 

“Meditech Expanse and Web Ambulatory prioritize clinician satisfaction and deliver a comfortable, personalized experience to make the clinician’s work more productive and  allow for more face-to-face time with patients,” says Joanne Bezzubetz, President and CEO at The Royal.

In addition, this technology via the Meditech patient portal, provides patients the ability to complete their own forms and documents, allowing them to contribute to their electronic health record which puts them in control of their information to make informed decisions for their care.

“This significant electronic health record enhancement and new functionality is giving the patient the ability to have a more active role in their healthcare. Engaged patients become active partners in their own care and through this technology they are able to schedule their own appointments and communicate with their clinicians, which empowers patients to take control and manage their conditions.” says Karim Mamdani, President and CEO at Ontario Shores.

Meditech Expanse is planned to be in use in early 2021 and Web Ambulatory in Fall 2021.

About Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care is an internationally recognized specialty mental health hospital located on Georgian Bay in the Town of Penetanguishene with a vibrant 100+ year history of providing healing, hope and exceptional care. Waypoint provides a range of acute and longer-term psychiatric inpatient and outpatient services to Simcoe County, part of Dufferin County and the southern portion of Muskoka/Parry Sound. In addition, Waypoint provides Ontario’s only high secure forensic mental health program for patients served by both the mental health and justice systems and is home to the Waypoint Research Institute. 

About Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) is a leader in mental health care, providing a range of specialized assessment and treatment services for people living with complex mental illness. Patients benefit from a recovery-oriented environment of care, built on compassion, inspiration and hope. Ontario Shores engages in research, education and advocacy initiatives to advance the mental health care system. 

About The Royal Ottawa Health Care Group
The Royal is one of Canada’s foremost mental health care, teaching and research hospitals. Its mandate is simple: to help more people living with mental illness into recovery faster. The Royal combines the delivery of specialized mental health care, advocacy, research and education to transform the lives of people living with complex and treatment-resistant mental illness. The Royal includes mental health centres in Ottawa and Brockville, community mental health services at Carlingwood Mall, and four satellite offices.  The Royal’s Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinic treats Canadian Forces, veterans and RCMP, and is the only OSI clinic within a specialized academic mental health centre. The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, brings together leading clinicians, scientists and technology to investigate the brain circuitry linked to depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation. With the launch of the world’s leading-edge technology in molecular imaging targeted solely to mental health research, The Royal is becoming an innovative powerhouse — putting the nation’s capital at the forefront of unlocking the secrets of the brain — the last frontier. The Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health raises funds that support The Royal’s work. The Royal places a sharp focus on awareness building through the You Know Who I Am campaign and public education initiatives such as Conversations at The Royal and Is It Just Me? Conversations about Youth Mental Health. For more information, please visit theroyal.ca.