WESTWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--By leveraging its innovative partnership with Humber River Hospital, Runnymede Healthcare Centre is LIVE with MEDITECH Expanse in just an eight-month timeframe, enabling the organization to move from a completely paper-based system to a fully electronic health record (EHR) solution.
“Our relationship with Humber provided us the foundation to build an EHR that would take our organization to the next level,” said Connie Dejak, President and Chief Executive Officer of Runnymede Healthcare Centre. “By acquiring the Expanse technology, we are also now able to improve our care coordination and internal processes, as well as work more closely with Humber for the betterment of the community.”
Runnymede, a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital, quickly went live with many components of the EHR — including CPOE followed by bedside verification. Since automating charting at the bedside, Runnymede has brought medication errors down to zero. They have also automated food ordering, to more effectively monitor the dietary needs for their medically complex patient population. They now look to roll out MEDITECH's patient portal to make it easier for patients and their families to engage with their healthcare providers.
Runnymede sends its specimens to Humber, as the two hospitals are less than 10 kilometres apart, to eliminate the need for a third-party lab service. Results are available within just one to two hours, as opposed to up to three days using the outsourced lab.
“We are very proud of Runnymede’s success right out of the gate,” said Humber Chief Technology Officer Kevin Fernandes. “It demonstrates how, by working in close partnership with organizations that have already-proven processes, hospitals can achieve the great outcomes that come with closing gaps in care.”
As North America’s first fully digital hospital, Humber automates as many systems as possible. Its lab and pharmacy systems are just two examples. Within lab workflow, samples are taken at the patient’s bedside, labeled on the spot with a barcode printer, and immediately sent to the lab. Machines process blood and automatically enter results into the patient’s medical record. What once took several hours now takes less than one, from order to result.
Similarly, Humber has a closed-loop medication ordering process, enabling orders to be sent directly from the EHR to the central pharmacy, where a robotic system picks, packages, and labels medications with barcodes for bedside administration.
Humber’s recent move to Expanse has helped the facility to better connect patient care across the continuum by leveraging the latest innovative technologies to improve efficiency, mobility, and access to patient information.
“Moving to Expanse is transformative, especially for organizations like Runnymede that have been paper based for many years,” said MEDITECH Executive Vice President Helen Waters. “The impact of their EHR implementation has been almost immediate with positive outcomes in all areas, including patient care, internal operations, and billing. And Runnymede’s partnership with Humber magnifies the possibilities for getting even more benefits out of their systems going forward.”
Learn more about how Expanse is transforming the care experience.
About MEDITECH
As Canada’s leading EHR solution provider with nearly half of the hospital market share, MEDITECH is the leading supplier of multi-site and clustered environments throughout the country. Serving Canada for over four decades, MEDITECH has driven innovation during every stage of the industry's evolution. Today we’re helping healthcare organizations expand their vision for what an EHR can be, with MEDITECH Expanse — the first fully web-based solution to boost clinical and organizational efficiency while enhancing physician, nurse, and patient satisfaction. MEDITECH software is used by a quarter of all U.S. hospitals along with healthcare organizations in 23 countries. We help power the best care possible in every setting, from acute centers and ambulatory clinics, to long-term care facilities, home health, and beyond. Visit ehr.meditech.com and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Runnymede Healthcare Centre
Runnymede Healthcare Centre is a dynamic and growing 206-bed rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital passionately dedicated to serving the community in the west end of Toronto. Its outstanding patient-centred care provides patients with a crucial pathway to recovery.
About Humber River Hospital
A longtime MEDITECH customer, Humber River Hospital is one of Canada’s largest regional acute care hospitals, serving a catchment area of more than 850,000 people in the northwest GTA. Humber recently celebrated its 5th anniversary as North America's first fully-digital hospital — using complex algorithms, predictive analytics, and cutting-edge engineering to target improved clinical, operational, and patient outcomes.
