Infoway Awards Teams for Developing Quality Plans to Help Accelerate Value of Digital Health

(Toronto) – Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) is pleased to announce the recipients of the ImagineNation e-Connect Impact Challenge Quality Plan Award. Independent judges selected teams from across the country based on their plans to analyze and improve the quality and use of digital solutions that connect health care providers with their patients and with each other. They scored each plan based on a set of criteria including quality assessment, track record, plan strength and feasibility.

"We are delighted that so many teams developed plans to improve the quality and use of digital solutions that connect health care providers with their patients and with each other," said Fraser Ratchford, ‎Group Program Director, Consumer Health and Innovation at Canada Health Infoway. "We particularly congratulate the award recipients and look forward to sharing their insights and experiences in achieving benefits for clinicians and patients."

Infoway celebrates each of the recipient teams:

  • Team Braun Perio: The team aims to increase the use and quality of eReferral Service for oral health care, with benefits both within their clinic and for referring dentists.
  • Team Woodstock Rehabilitation Clinic: This team's plan is to develop an interactive module to enter physical exam findings and a pre-set treatment plan module.
  • Team CognisantMD: Over the next twelve months, this team will focus on increasing eReferral targets, improving the directory used for referrals, and increasing the number of primary care physicians who rely on the directory.
  • Team Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) eHealth Office: This team is currently using ClinicalConnect, a secure online web portal that provides physicians and clinicians with real-time access to their patients' electronic medical information. Their plan will test the usability and interface of the web portal to identify potential areas of improvement. Usability testing will be based on System Usability Scale adapted for the team.
  • Team Wellx: The team plans to increase the usability of the website and app for patients, so they can communicate with their healthcare provider and increase team collaboration.
  • Team Community MD: The team's plan aims to reduce patient wait times, clinic visits and increase healthcare practitioner and office staff satisfaction.
  • Team VistaCan: The team's plan highlights how they intend to improve information sharing and reduce reporting delays for health services through direct integration of reports of service into the existing electronic medical records used by physicians.

The e-Connect Impact Challenge runs until March 31, 2015. Eligible teams are encouraged to join throughout the Challenge. The Adoption Awards deadline is October 31, 2014 with up to $240,000 in awards available. For more information, visit: www.imaginenationchallenge.ca.

About the ImagineNation Challenges

The ImagineNation Challenges seek to inspire, provoke, and promote innovation in health and health care. The challenges not only spur innovation, they aim to help foster a community of innovators in Canada.

Each ImagineNation Challenge is different, but they all share the same ultimate goal: to improve the quality of care and the patient experience.

About Canada Health Infoway

Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians. Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government.

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For more information:

Haley Armstrong
Senior Director, Communications and Public Relations
Canada Health Infoway
647-713-9459
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