North York Mirror
North York General Hospital, which has won awards for its innovative information technology programs, is now reaching out to other hospitals across Canada.
It is leading an initiative that will help other hospitals implement computer technology to improve patient safety.
The project has received $1 million from Canada Health Infoway, the hospital said in a statement.
The funding will allow North York General to build on its IT successes.
Doctors at the hospital can electronically access the latest medical literature available so they can provide the best and most up-to-date care to patients.
The hospital has created more than 350 order sets covering care in medicine, surgery and critical care.
The Infoway funding will allow the hospital to add another 250 order sets covering care in pediatrics, maternal/newborn and mental health.
The funding will also support the development of the Canadian Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) Toolkit, which will mean North York General can share its order sets with hospitals across Canada for free.
"CPOE eliminates the need for handwritten orders and prescriptions, reducing the opportunity for errors and enhancing communication between health care team members," the hospital statement said.
Hospital president Dr. Tim Rutledge thanked Infoway for its funding.
"I am delighted that Canada Health Infoway recognizes the leadership role NYGH places in eHealth innovation," he said.
"This funding will allow us to advance our health information technology infrastructure for the benefit of our patients, while supporting other health care providers (to) reach their full potential in CPOE for the benefit of their patients."
Once the toolkit is developed, other hospitals can add their own order sets.
Dr. Jeremy Theal, director of medical informatics at North York General, is pleased the hospital's IT innovations will help patients across Canada.
"It is truly remarkable technology and has made major improvements in quality of patient care inside our hospital and in the community we serve," he said.
"We hope that once implemented in other hospitals, CPOE will make the same major strides in patient safety as it did at NYGH."