Patients in Chatham-Kent will be able to receive more streamlined care, thanks to a new program linking hospitals and long term care homes in the region.
Hospitals in the St Clair Region, which include the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Windsor Regional Hospital, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Erie Shores Healthcare, are now linked with facilities in the London area through the Ontario eHub Health Information Exchange. The program connects medical records across hospitals and long term care facilities to provide more efficient and coordinated care when patients are moved from one location to another.
Lauren Wieringa is CKHA’s Director of Quality, Risk & Digital Services and says the Ontario eHub builds on the success of IT systems put in place at hospitals in Chatham-Kent, Leamington, and Windsor in 2020, and will continue to grow.
“We’re going to be expanding that bi-directional information flow of health records to primary care, home care, community linkages, and specialty care,” Wieringa explains. “For our patients, the goal is to allow them to experience a higher quality of care and a reduced need to re-share their story and clinical history across multiple care settings, and therefore decreasing their readmission to hospital as well.”
Officials say patients will no longer have to repeat their medical history, and health care workers will have instant access to the most up-to-date health information, allowing them to start care immediately without any unnecessary tests or delays.
“Ensuring our patients and those who care for them can exchange accurate health information quickly and efficiently, particularly those from long-term care homes who may have cognitive issues, is an important step forward in providing top-notch health care to our community,” says CKHA CEO Lori Marshall. “We have an aging population, often with complex medical needs, and being able to access up-to-date health information at the time a patient arrives helps provide the best care in the most efficient manner possible.”
