The Innovations in Health Care Expo showcases some of the leading initiatives driving innovation in Ontario's health care system and presents an opportunity for health care workers to share knowledge and generate ideas for new approaches to improve health care delivery.
The 2010 Innovations in Health Care Awards are presented in recognition of outstanding innovation in six designated categories. This year, Sunnybrook is nominated in two categories:
Sunnybrook Innovation: electronic discharge summaries
Family physicians now receive electronically generated discharge summaries from Sunnybrook that are standardized, have comprehensive content, and are clear and easy to read. Read more about this innovation
The purpose of a hospital discharge summary is to communicate the details of a patient's hospital stay to the primary caregiver, thereby facilitating continuity of care. After patients are discharged, follow-up care is usually provided by a family physician (rather than the hospital-based physician), who may not have participated in the care process during hospitalization.
Timely communication of discharge summaries at Sunnybrook was an issue as days to weeks transpired before summaries were completed and mailed to referring family physicians. Research showed the quality of discharge summaries significantly decreased when the delay from patient discharge to when the summary was available increased.
The development of an electronic discharge summary has alleviated these shortcomings, creating opportunities to improve quality and safety of care for discharged patients. Family physicians now receive electronically generated discharge summaries from Sunnybrook that are standardized, have comprehensive content, and are clear and easy to read.
Sunnybrook Innovation: deployment of remote pharmacy technology to support patient care
The Holland Centre MedCentre gives patients and their families full-time access to pharmacy counseling services, allowing them to fill their prescriptions before leaving. Read more about this innovation
Patients being discharged from Holland Centre did not have ready access to prescribed medication, as there is no retail pharmacy onsite. PharmaTrust, a Canadian company based in Oakville, developed the MedCentre, a kiosk which allows access to pharmacy services.
These services include the ability to fill prescriptions and dispense medication using advanced robotics combined with a comprehensive monitoring and safety system, controlled remotely by a pharmacist who communicates face to face with the patient throughout the entire dispensing process via videoconferencing.
On February 23, 2010, the Holland Centre MedCentre went live, giving patients and their families full-time access to pharmacy counseling services and allowing them to fill their prescriptions before leaving. This ensures post-surgery pain is adequately managed, patients and family members can have medication questions answered, and patients can get home as quickly as possible. This contributes to improved patient outcomes, enhanced safety, and a better experience for patients.
Learn more about the awards.
