INSIDE:
Project AMPLIFI
An interoperability project to create a two-way data flow between a long-term care centre in Dundas, Ont., and a hospital in Hamilton was so successful the health ministry OK’d the rollout of the solution to all Ontario hospitals and LTC facilities.
Page 4
MyJourney for cancer care
A Toronto surgeon led the development of a comprehensive app that gives cancer patients, clinicians and administrators information about procedures, appointments, and more.
Page 6
MRI in Nunavut
A Hyperfine portable MRI is up and running in Iqaluit, providing patients with fast head scans. The solution was supposed to be temporary, but it’s proving so costeffective, the region is keeping it.
Page 14
CMA highlights the need for better interoperability
Kathleen Ross, president of the Canadian Medical Association, focused on the need for better interoperability in healthcare IT systems during her keynote address at the e-Health 2024 conference, held in Vancouver in May. She was in Toronto in June when federal Health Minister Mark Holland announced the Connected Care for Canadians Act, which will set a framework for sharing data. SEE STORY ON PAGE 4.
Fraser Health aims to become a Canadian AI leader
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
Fraser Health, in British Columbia, is emerging as one of Canada’s most technologically innovative health regions –especially when it comes to deploying artificial intelligence (AI) across the enterprise.
“We have 40-plus AI project in various stages of development, and we’ve deployed 12 of them,” said Sheazin Premji, executive director of Fraser Health’s Centre for Advanced Analytics, Data Science and Innovation (CAADSI).
“Our team is scouring the world for best practices. We don’t want to be following, we want to be leading,” she added.
The CAADSI team consists of engineers, analysts, consultants and data scientists. For its part, Fraser Health serves a population of
nearly 2 million people and is the largest of BC’s five health regions.
One of the key projects under way is the Digital Twin, which recreates the workings of the health region as a digital model. It’s
The Digital Twin at Fraser Health is the first enterprise-wide deployment of its kind in Canada.
said to be the first ‘enterprise wide’ deployment of a digital twin system in Canada.
While the solution is in its initial stages, it will ultimately enable health region administrators and clinicians to test different scenarios and by doing so, to improve patient flow, work patterns and hopefully, medical outcomes, too.
These sophisticated ‘what-if’ scenarios could include everything from seeing what happens when you change the location of a service – such as the medical imaging department – to altering the course of a treatment.
One could even experiment with designing and adding an entire building to the region.
But by using a computerized, AI-driven model, it can be done much more efficiently and at less cost. “It would be very expensive to test in real life, from a capital-intensive point of view,” said Jennifer MacGregor, vice president, Digital Health and Provider Experience at Fraser Health.
MacGregor and colleagues from Fraser Health gave an hour-long presentation about the Digital Twin and other AI pro-
Fraser Health,in British Columbia,aims to become an AI leader
jects at the recent e-Health conference in Vancouver.
Creating the Digital Twin is not a simple exercise, they noted, as it requires massive stores of data – in the case of Fraser Health, the region has built up 16 terabytes of data said senior director Casper Shyr. And the volume is quickly rising each day.
The project also relies upon the ability of the team to make the right connections between data, so that real relationships are modeled and accurate predictions can be made.
It’s an iterative process, involving trial and error and getting the tweaks right. “You’ve got to plan, implement, measure, plan, implement, measure,” said MacGregor, stressing the process is continued until a satisfactory result is obtained.
MacGregor noted that the Digital Twin is initially much like a 2-dimensional dashboard, but this isn’t the final interface. Instead, she envisions a 3-dimensional model – perhaps like a Sims-style simulation of buildings and people, where the model changes as various parameters are altered.
That 3D interface should be even easier to use than the current dashboard, with its charts, speedometers and buttons. “We want a self-serve model,” she asserted. “So that the end-user can use it to answer their own questions, like with ChatGPT. We want it to be conversational. That’s where we want it to go.”
While Fraser Health has a team dedicated to technological advances – which includes work on the region’s new implementation of MEDITECH Expanse – it is also collaborating with members of the private sector to build the Digital Twin. They include Verto and Deloitte.
Toronto-based Verto Health is supplying a good deal of the technology for the Digital Twin. The company has created digital twins in small pieces at many hospitals across Canada, but this is the first enterprise-wide deployment.
On the AI side, Millar explained that the Digital Twin is consuming a lot of unstructured data – such as encounter notes and discharge summaries – and making sense of it, said Michael Millar, CEO and co-founder of Verto.
Using this data, and other feeds, the sys-
tem will be able to identify and flag numerous issues and bring them to the attention of caregivers.
For example, said Millar, “If a person goes for treatment to the ER, and the system sees that the person also has mental health issues but no regular provider, it will alert the hospital that the person needs supports once he is discharged and back in the community.”
Those kinds of supports can reduce the likelihood of a return visit to the ED and
The Digital Twin will read unstructured data, such as encounter notes, and flag important issues for caregivers.
can promote the health of the individual over the long term.
The system, in future, will be able to mine unstructured and structured data and will be able to make predictions about the care needs of people – even before they enter hospital.
“It’s a quantum leap in the way health data is used,” said Millar.
Right now, the Digital Twin is focused on the Emergency Departments at Fraser Health, as the project gets off the ground. “We’ve got a lot of wicked problems that we want to solve,” said MacGregor.
The virtual model will track how ED patients arrive at the 12 regional hospitals, how they move through the facilities, and what tests, medications and treatments they are given.
The system will also analyze how they are getting to the emergency departments, whether they are virtual care patients, and the time taken for them to move through the ED, into the hospital or to be discharged.
In this way, staff and clinicians can use the Digital Twin for problem-solving –finding out how patients and staff are affected by various factors and changes.
While the Digital Twin is just getting off the ground, Fraser Health’s AI-driven tool for predicting potential discharges is wellestablished in the region. And the system is making a significant difference.
“We want to be at a 95 percent occupancy rate in acute care beds, not at the 115 percent that we sometimes see,” said Teresa O’Callaghan, regional executive director at Fraser Health. “Then we ask, how many discharges would that take? And we also ask, realistically, how many discharges can we expect? That’s where the dashboard comes in.”
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Recently, this solution helped the region discharge 500 patients on one day – reducing acute care bed occupancy from 3,100 beds down to 2,600. “Imagine that, 500 patients discharged in a single day,” she mused.
The discharge dashboard tracks all inpatients across the region and shows users whether these patients have completed all their tests. It tracks their vital signs and shows whether the patients have met certain benchmarks and are theoretically ready to leave.
“It’s not meant to usurp the human individual, and we’re not telling doctors who to discharge,” said O’Callaghan. “But it does predict when a person could reasonably be expected to be discharged. We now rely on this at Fraser Health.”
She emphasized that doctors are the ones in charge of discharge, but the tool can be used to alert and remind them when patients need their attention for this purpose. “Why have patients in beds who could go, if they don’t have to be there,” she asked.
Finally, Dr. Amyeen Hassanali, CIO at the health region, discussed Fraser Health’s innovative chatbot for assisting clinicians and staff with questions about the new MEDITECH Expanse electronic health record.
He explained that a good deal of work went into training Fraser Health’s 50,000
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Federal government introduces health data interoperability legislation
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
TORONTO – At Women’s College Hospital in June, Mark Holland, Minister of Health, introduced the ‘Connected Care for Canadians Act’. The act aims to improve the access that Canadians have to their own health data, which should improve their decisionmaking and the care they receive.
The legislation also aims to make it easier for clinicians to access the data they need to make timely decisions about their patients’ health. On this note, the act calls for data standards that will allow better connectivity between electronic record systems.
“The truth is, data saves lives,” said Holland. “It has the power to transform the healthcare system.”
He added, “The legislation sets a framework … so patients can view their health data. And it takes the blindfolds off practitioners,” so they can make better decisions using the most up-to-date information available.
He referenced the case of Greg Price, an Alberta engineer who died of testicular cancer – something that can be cured when discovered and treated in a timely manner – because of delayed information transfers among the clinicians looking after him.
“We failed Greg,” said Holland. “His death was entirely avoidable.”
Greg Price’s sister, Teri, also spoke at the event. Since Greg’s death, her family has worked with the Alberta Health Quality Association to find out how it happened and how to prevent such tragedies in the future. One of the major findings was the lack of timely data sharing.
“Greg’s story isn’t unique,” said Price. “It’s part of many patients’ stories.” Much of the problem “touches on access to information.”
Holland agreed and acknowledged that
interoperability is “critically important for our healthcare system.”
Yet today, less than 40 percent of Canadians report accessing some of their health information electronically and only 35 percent of physicians share patient information outside their practice.
“The fact that only 35 percent of physicians can share information outside their offices is unacceptable,” said Holland. “That we still use fax machines is unacceptable. And we shouldn’t have to force patients to remember all of their healthcare information.”
As noted by the federal government, delayed access to personal health information causes harm to patients – it can result in unnecessary or duplicative tests, longer wait times and hospital stays, and medication errors.
When health providers and patients have access to health information, there
are decreased re-admission rates, increased accuracy of diagnosis, increased quality of care, and fewer deaths.
Connectivity will ease the burden on patients, families, and caregivers who must often recall and repeat their medical history. It also reduces stress on healthcare providers who are having to make decisions without access to all of the patient’s information.
Holland said that by connecting repositories of health data, we’re setting the stage for better AI-driven solutions. “It paves the way for a different future. We can employ AI to connect the dots, to see, maybe, that you have a rare disease.”
In a question and answer session after his remarks, Holland noted that standards won’t be imposed by law on companies that supply electronic health record systems. Instead, companies will be encouraged – and expected – to adopt the standards.
Holland observed that in many cases,
the companies are benefiting from public funds when selling and deploying the systems. As such, they have a moral duty to share the data in their systems with the public and with clinicians using other solutions.
Currently, federal, provincial, and territorial governments are working together on common standards via a Pan-Canadian Interoperability Roadmap. It is designed to set the path forward to connected care through common interoperability and data standards.
The legislation aims to accelerate adoption of these standards and enable secure information sharing across platforms, but would only apply in provinces and territories that do not have similar legislation in place.
Dr. Kathleen Ross, president of the Canadian Medical Association, has been an active proponent of data sharing during her term as the organization’s leader. At the Women’s College Hospital event she said, “Access to data is critically important. Data is also a barrier, a hurdle that we have to overcome every day.”
She discussed the case of a pregnant mother who presented to her with a potentially serious condition. The patient had received an ultrasound, but Dr. Ross wasn’t able to access the results right away.
Under the circumstances, she had to make an educated guess about what to do and sent her patient home.
Dr. Ross was able to phone the next day to receive the ultrasound report – by fax. Luckily, she had made the right call. But she still laments having to work without the best information – data that was available, but not accessible.
“We do have pockets of data interoperability in Canada that could serve as models, but we need it across the country,” said Dr. Ross.
Project AMPLIFI connects LTC centres and hospitals across Ontario
For years, hospitals and longterm care centres have invested in electronic systems, but they’ve been unable to share information digitally between siloed platforms. For that reason, when LTC patients were sent to hospital, records were usually sent on paper, by fax, or not at all.
Citing a major study, Dr. Dan Perri, chief medical information officer at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, in Hamilton, Ont., said that “Patients presenting to the ER from long-term care centres were missing key information about 90 percent of the time.” Dr. Perri presented with colleagues at the recent e-Health 2024 conference in Vancouver.
He noted the interoperability problem spurred Project AMPLIFI, which is connecting the EHR system used in most Ontario nursing homes –PointClickCare – with the three major HIS solutions used in hospitals, namely, Epic, Oracle Health and MEDITECH.
The solution is exchanging key health information at points of transitions in
care, both as a read-only summary document and also for reconciliation directly within the electronic chart.
“It’s a massive interoperability project,” said Dr. Perri. And to its credit, the team has succeeded –- it has connected scores of hospitals and nursing homes, securely sending data back and forth concerning problem lists, medications, allergies and immunizations. Kudos must also go to the hospitals and LTC centres that have participated.
Tyler Aird, senior project manager, who also presented at the conference, noted that since it started in 2021, Project AMPLIFI has connected 20 Epic hospitals, 28 Oracle Health hospitals, and 19 MEDITECH hospitals. They’re now able to exchange data with 452 long-term care centres in Ontario. All of these numbers are still rising, as organizations continue to be onboarded to the clinical data exchange.
AMPLIFI began with a pilot project that demonstrated interoperability between St. Joseph’s Villa, a nursing home in Dundas, Ont., using PointClickCare, and
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, which uses Epic. After the success of the pilot project in 2021, the Ministry of Health gave the green light and announced funding to connect all eligible hospitals and LTC organizations across the province.
Since then, AMPLIFI has supported more than 36,000 total transfers between long-term care and hospitals, including
After the success of the pilot, the Ministry of Health offered funding to connect all Ontario hospitals and LTC centres.
over 31,000 in the most recent year of the three-year project.
Aird commented that it has been a challenge, for one thing, because each of the hospital HIS platforms function a little differently when it comes to exchanging data with external organizations.
Nevertheless, the project has achieved excellent feedback in terms of clinician benefits. Sarah Culgin, research manager
for Project AMPLIFI, commented on a survey of the project’s Epic hospital users and long-term care homes.
She noted that 79 percent of respondents agreed the exchange is important for sharing information, and 75 percent agreed that it was important for patient safety.
As well, 60 percent agreed usage of the system helped them save time on paperwork and searching for information, giving them more time to spend delivering patient care.
“They’re perceiving savings of up to 60 minutes [per patient] for record review and reconciliation,” said Culgin, explaining that prior to AMPLIFI clinicians were spending a great deal of time looking at paper documentation that comes in with patients, confirming, correcting and manually adding it to the patient’s chart.
The time savings via AMPLIFI includes the time they used to wait for return calls or faxes. Now, information comes through electronically using the clinical data exchange solution.
An ancillary benefit of the project has
WCH CEO Heather McPherson, Dr. Kathleen Ross, Teri Price, Mark Holland, and MP Helena Jaczek.
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New platform assists cancer patients, clinicians and administrators
TORONTO – A cancer surgeon at North York General Hospital has led the development of a new, digital platform – called MyJourney Health – that supports breast cancer patients, clinicians and healthcare administrators with an all-inone app that facilitates their access to data.
On the patient side, the app automatically pulls data from their records in different systems to create a longitudinal chart that summarizes their breast cancer journey. Available on desktop and on smartphones, it can be used by the patient, for example, during encounters with clinicians in the community or with new specialists.
The benefit is that it provides an accurate summary for decision-making. “It saves a lot of time for everyone, and it means that clinicians don’t have to log in and out of different systems to get the information they need,” said Dr. Fahima Osman, the surgeon who led the development of MyJourney Health. “It puts the whole experience into a short story.”
Patients, too, have a detailed summary of their own experience at hand – on their smartphones, if they wish. They can use the data to understand their condition, to help with self-care, and to explain their issues to everyone from family members to specialists they may meet.
In doing so, the system automatically accesses numerous patient record systems – such as the Oracle/Cerner EHR at North York General and the Mosaic cancer care system at nearby Sunnybrook Health Sciences, where many of NYGH’s patients go
for radiation treatment. It can also access other hospital information systems, such as Epic and MEDITECH.
“It’s vendor agnostic, and it’s not an electronic patient record,” said Dr. Osman. “It’s middleware that accesses all of these systems, with the patient’s permission.”
MyJourney accesses scheduling systems and loads appointments into the app in real-time – soon after an appointment is made, it shows up in the patient’s app and in her calendar. “That saves time, because patients are often calling by phone to find out the date of their next chemo or radiation appointments,” said Dr. Osman.
It’s helpful for nurses and physicians, too, who can use the system to track when their patients have appointments. It also tells them when the patient has completed a specific test or treatment.
“That’s important, because often a patient can’t be scheduled for surgery until she has had certain tests or chemo or radiation,” said Dr. Osman. “Clinicians spend a lot of time phoning around for this information. Now, it’s automatically sent to MyJourney.”
She observed that cancer nurses at North York General Hospital each treat about 100 patients each month. Tracking their appointments by phone is a heavy burden; with MyJourney, the system will do the tracking for them.
MyJourney also automatically collects statistical data that must be sent to Cancer Care Ontario on a regular basis.
At most hospitals, this is a heavily manual task, with figures ultimately tracked in Excel spreadsheets by nurses and clerks. MyJourney is doing the work for them, reducing the need for clerks and enabling nurses to focus more on patient care.
For its part, NYGH’s breast cancer program is accredited under the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), a quality program administered by the American College of Surgeons. Indeed, it is the first and only Canadian hospital to have earned this designation.
To maintain its status as an accredited breast cancer centre, it has to report regularly to the NAPBC. This data, too, is now being collected automatically by MyJourney.
Dr. Osman noted that with the system aggregating so much data, it will soon be used to make predictions by applying smart algorithms. “It will be
able to look at various types of diagnostic data and tell us which cancer patients are likely to have complications in the future,” she said. Clinicians can use these insights to more closely monitor the patients and to offer specific tests to detect problems when they are more easily treatable.
MyJourney contains a wealth of educational information for breast cancer patients. It also contains checklists, advising them about what they need to do or bring to hospital when they’re having chemo, radiation or other appointments. The information is customized for each patient – for example, whether she has triple negative breast cancer; it will educate her about what this means for her treatment and post-operative care. It provides practical information, too, such as where the patient can get a wig in her neighborhood, or where to find a nanny for childcare.
Some advanced features are in the works and will likely be rolled out in the fall. They include a component called the Multidisciplinary Cancer Conference Tool. It acts like an online tumour board and provides a secure space where specialists can discuss cases and decide on the best course of action for the patient.
MyJourney Health has been in development for 8 years and went live at North York General Hospital breast center in September 2022. The team is planning a bigger rollout at NYGH this summer. As well, Dr. Osman said the goal is to offer the system to other hospitals. Patients will be able to use the app for free, while hospitals will pay a licensing fee.
How to create a medtech company and sell it for a billion dollars
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
TORONTO – It’s thrilling to hear about a scientist or doctor who discovers a new technology, launches a company, and a few years later sells it for hundreds of millions of dollars – or more.
A recent case in point is Fusion Pharmaceuticals, in Hamilton, Ont., which went from startup to becoming a successful medtech company and was recently sold to the multinational AstraZeneca for $2.4 billion.
However glamorous it may look in retrospect, in reality the road to success – and to simply survive in a competitive marketplace – for most medtech entrepreneurs is slow and arduous.
Fusion Pharma, for example, took years to get from idea to company to sale.
“We met Fusion in 2008, and we didn’t invest in it until 2017,” said Damian Lamb, co-founder and managing director of venture capital firm Genesys Capital, which supplied growth capital to Fusion and helped nurture it. “It’s a long process,” Lamb observed.
Lamb and several other financial experts commented on the intricacies of venture capital investments in the medtech sector as part of the recent Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCI) Dis-
coveryX Conference, held in Toronto in April. The room was overflowing, a sign of the surging interest in how to finance a medical technology startup and take it public or sell to a large company.
Fusion Pharmaceuticals served as a case in point.
McMaster University professor of chemical biology, John Valliant, came up with the ideas for Fusion Pharma while working at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ont. In particular, he envisaged turning radioactive pharmaceuticals into “smartbombs” that could target specific cancer cells while leaving surrounding tissue intact.
The drugs now being produced by Fusion are known as ‘radioconjugates’, and they’re part of an evolving technology that’s considered to be one of the most exciting developments in cancer therapy.
traZeneca is going to keep the business running in Hamilton.
While the Fusion Pharmaceuticals story is inspiring, Lamb stressed that there’s a lot of blood, tears, sweat and toil involved in going from academic idea to commercial success. Perhaps the most gruelling part is obtaining start-up financing and working with investors.
“Getting money is hard,” said Lamb. “Getting successful and doing an exit is even harder.” He warned, moreover, that most companies never get to the
However, they stressed that it must be much more than an idea – the entrepreneur has to put some time and thought into creating a plan and documents that investors can look at.
Saying that many companies are knocking on his door for cash, venture capitalist Nikhil Thatte, senior principal with Lumira Ventures, said “you will only get one chance at making a first impression.”
He quipped, “If you bring a napkin with some scribbles on it, that will become my first impression,” and probably not a good one.
(L to R)
Slowly, with the help of local academic and business colleagues, Valliant built up the business, went public, and finally sold it – what they call an “exit” in the vencap sector.
It’s the largest sale of a university spin-off company in Hamilton’s history, and the nice thing about it is that As-
promised land. “Predicting who will, well, that’s the game,” he said, explaining the role of the venture capitalist.
Lamb and the other panelists said that it’s good to start early and approach investors with an innovative idea for a business.
Thatte said he expects entrepreneurs to be totally honest about where they are in the process of creating a technology, the product and the company. “We log every interaction. If you said you’d be at $500,000 [in revenue] by now, and you’re only at $250,000, we’ll remind you about it and find out why.”
Thatte added that the idea for a business must be a stellar one. Investors like Lumira and Genesys aren’t looking just for innovators, they’re seeking companies and technologies that will disrupt the market.
“We’ve learned our lesson about
Cheryl Reicin, Damian Lamb, Maura Campbell and Nikhil Thatte.
Dr. Fahima Osman
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Mackenzie Health goes live with IV pumps that communicate with the EHR
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
VAUGHAN AND RICHMOND HILL, ONT.
– Mackenzie Health is the first healthcare provider in Canada to deploy IV pumps with a two-way flow of information between the pump and the patient’s electronic health record. Mackenzie Health started using this capability in 1,500 BD Alaris pumps in April.
The advanced pumps both save time and promote patient safety. Instead of programming the pump for each medication and patient, nurses scan the patient’s
wristband, medication barcode and the infusion pump. That reduces the time needed for setup, and it also ensures the right medication is getting to the right patient in the proper dose.
“This is going to have a tremendous impact on patient safety and workflow,” said
Mary-Agnes Wilson, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief nursing executive at Mackenzie Health.
“One study showed the technology reduced the number of keystrokes for nurses by 86 percent,” she said. “With four to five patients per nurse, and in some cases, multiple pumps for a patient, that can amount to an impressive time-savings.”
Wilson noted that the pumps are used for a wide range of intravenous medications, including saline and sugar solutions, antibiotics and pain medications.
The other significant gain is on the patient-safety side. By reducing the number of keystrokes made by nurses, the system is also reducing the chances of human error.
Instead, when scanning barcodes, the machine communicates with the Epic electronic health record and determines whether the right patient is getting the correct medication and dose at the right time.
“We’re trying to create systems to let people do the right things,” said Wilson. One of the missions at Mackenzie Health is to become a “high reliability” hospital system, and to that end, it’s building safety into the way things are done.
“The best strategy to prevent error is to hard-wire safety into our systems as much as possible,” she said.
Purvi Desai, VP of Digital Health and CIO at Mackenzie Health, noted that about 10 months of design work and training went into the project before things went live in April.
She explained that it wasn’t just a matter of connecting the pumps to the electronic health record. It also involved studying the workflow of nurses, physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and others involved in ordering and dispensing medications to patients.
The nuances of the hospital’s workflow were then built into the system. Moreover, the solution had to work the same way across the enterprise, at both of Mackenzie Health’s two sites. “We have clinicians who move between the two sites, so it had to be consistent for them,” she said.
The pumps are wireless, and testing had to be done to ensure they’d work everywhere in the two hospitals. Moreover, they needed to maintain their connectivity as they were moved around – for example, some patients in the emergency department start IV treatment there and are then moved to an inpatient floor.
It’s important that the pump is able to continue communicating as it’s moved through the hospital.
In addition to the input gained from clinicians, the biomedical, pharmacy and equipment teams were involved in working on the project, along with the IT staff. Reps from BD and Epic also lent their expertise.
“The magic was in bringing the multidisciplinary team together and testing for all possible scenarios,” said Desai.
Months of training were also involved to ensure that clinicians were fully briefed on how to use the pumps at the patient bedside in a new way.
Mackenzie Health benefited from the work of ‘corporate superusers,’ who were experts in the application. “They then trained 200 ‘clinical champions’ who went back and educated their teams,” said Desai.
3D printing technology shortens equipment-related delays at CHEO
BY JAMIE LONG
CHEO HAS PARTNERED WITH POLYUNITY TECH FOR 3D PRINTING SERVICES to help repair hospital equipment faster and shorten delays for children and youth who need care. 3D print will also be used to design new products that will continue to push CHEO forward as an innovative leader in pediatric healthcare.
The innovative technology creates replacement parts to put tools and materials back into service within hours.
Otherwise, a new part could take days, or sometimes weeks, to arrive if CHEO had to order them from a manufacturer. In some cases, the manufacturer no longer supplies the part, rendering the equipment obsolete and requiring replacement.
CHEO signed a five-year agreement with PolyUnity for in-house 3D printing service after a pilot project in 2022-23 showed how this innovation could help solve supply-chain issues.
The initial pilot was supported through the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO) Early Adopter Health Network (EAHN) and resulted in more than 200 innovations, 1,281 products delivered, and 460 pieces of equipment repaired and returned to service.
Items created during the pilot included “medical play” products for Child Life service specialists at CHEO, as well as imitation ports to help worried children better understand their procedures and the medical devices that are being used.
It also helped find a long-term solution to some equipment pieces that also kept breaking, including headsets at the MRI clinic – used to help children remain still and entertained during MRI scans. With 3D printing, PolyUnity made a custom piece to put them back into use as the manufacturer for the headsets was no longer producing replacement parts.
The printer also created new drying racks for blood samples at Newborn Screening Ontario (NSO), a provincial screening program that operates at the CHEO campus on Smyth Road in Ottawa, and test tube racks in the labs of the CHEO Research Institute (CHEO RI).
To date, one of the most valuable products created by PolyUnity helped get CHEO’s air-transport stretchers back into service. These stretchers play a critical role as they carry vulnerable children including newborns, from places as far as Nunavut for urgent intensive care at CHEO.
PolyUnity created three protector products to prevent damage to CHEO’s air transport stretchers, which was required for them to pass safety inspection. These critical pieces brought the stretchers back into service and will further extend their useful lifespan.
“CHEO’s work with PolyUnity has allowed us to innovate while also being more cost effective,” said Mari Teitelbaum, the chief innovation officer at CHEO.
“Our clinical engineering team has worked closely with PolyUnity to create custom enclosures in our CathLab, fix neonatal transport equipment and quickly replace parts of other equipment that historically would be more expensive and slower to repair as we waited for vendors
to send us their fixes. It’s great to have this option to keep clinical services supported every day.”
The successful pilot, spearheaded by the CHEO RI’s Innovation Core, led to the procurement of the 3D printing service by CHEO.
“Innovation is a key part of how we constantly improve outcomes of care for children, youth and families,” said Dr. Jason Berman, CEO and scientific director at the CHEO RI, and vice-president of Research at CHEO. “Canadian innovation in the health technology sector is accelerat-
ing, but sadly, pediatric solutions are not being developed at the same rate. This is intensified by the large disconnect between clinicians, researchers, and industry as each has their own field of expertise and ways of operating. CHEO RI is bridging this gap through its Innovation Core.”
Physician-led company automates portable lung ultrasound with AI
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
ACanadian startup company in London, Ont., is at the forefront of a fast-evolving type of portable chest imaging – lung ultrasound. While ultrasound is an old technology, it had long been thought that the lungs – being full of air – were unsuitable for assessment with ultrasound.
“After being overlooked for so long, lung ultrasound has been shown to be more accurate than conventional tests like X-rays” said Dr. Rob Arntfield, a critical care physician and medical director of the Critical Care Trauma Centre at London Health Sciences Centre. He is also cofounder and CEO of Deep Breathe AI.
The company’s technology is centred around the application of artificial intelligence to promote further adoption of lung ultrasound. The results have been impressive – the Deep Breathe algorithm has proven to be as or more accurate than trained physicians in their studies. Now, Dr. Arntfield and a team of physicians and engineers at Deep Breathe are bringing the technology from silicon chip to the bedside.
Since ultrasound has been miniaturized to the point where it can run on a smartphone, using a plug-in probe, the device can be carried around in the pocket of a physician and used at the point-of-care in any clinical environment. The biggest barrier is training clinicians to use the technology, as it is not a core part of most medical training.
Deep Breathe’s AI platform aims to bridge this gap and allow lung ultrasound to become more accessible to patients and providers.
BThe gap in lung ultrasound usage leads to heavy reliance on the chest X-ray as the default technique for most lung imaging.
In fact, the chest X-ray is the most commonly ordered medical imaging test in the world each year. X-rays use ionizing radiation, and even in small amounts the radiation is of concern to many people. Ultrasound, on the other hand, uses sound waves, and can be safely used with adults and children.
Deep Breathe is first concentrating its AI platform on the problem of pneumothorax, which arises from the collapse or puncture of a lung.
Pneumothorax drives approximately 4 to 8 percent of the chest X-ray utilization in the United States. But considering that 129 million chest X-rays are done each year, it’s still a considerable number and a significant problem.
“Pneumothrax is a bigger problem than you might think,” said Dr. Arntfield. “It can arise from multiple causes and its ability to progress to become life-threatening means that clinicians devote lots of resources to looking for it and to rule it out.”
Deep Breathe’s AI for pneumothorax detection is currently under review by the FDA in the United States; Dr. Arntfield said he expects it to gain approval later this year. Review by Health Canada for use in this country will follow.
He commented that the company plans to produce other lung ultrasound algorithms in the next few years to address additional clinical questions like pneumonia, heart failure and pleural effusion.
Deep Breathe will be offering the algorithms to larger firms producing ultra-
sound equipment, including multi-national corporations, so they can include it in their equipment and provide increased use cases and value to their customers.
Of course, effective artificial intelligence relies on a large repository of data to base its decisions on. Dr. Arntfield said that Deep Breathe has created a database of tens of millions of still images from lung ultrasound studies, more than enough from which to draw accurate conclusions.
For his part, Dr. Arntfield is also the author of a textbook on point-of-care ultrasound and teaches other physicians from around the world on how to use handheld ultrasound.
He said that it takes about one month to teach an ER or critical care doctor how to conduct point-of-care lung ultrasound exams confidently. But with AI attached to the ultrasound, the training will be much faster. Indeed, Dr. Arntfield believes that with AI handling much of the interpretation, it will take only a few minutes to train physicians on how to use the technology. While the application is focused on inhospital use right now, the portability of ultrasound combined with the AI support will open the door to lung imaging anywhere a smartphone can be carried. This includes out of hospital clinics but also more rural or remote settings like ambulances, battlefields or space expeditions.
“Point-of-care imaging could really enrich the family practice model,” he said. “Doctors or nurse practitioners could do it. And using AI, you will be able to tell the difference between upper and lower respiratory tract infections, and eventually go one step further and be able to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections –right in the clinic.”
Eventually, Dr. Arntfield envisions a world where handheld ultrasound using AI will be used by consumers in their homes. “It’s all leading to the democratization of ultrasound technology – with hardware becoming cheaper and AI reducing the training and knowledge required to use the device, it could be used in the future like a thermometer is today.”
VHA Home HealthCare deploys smartphone management
y improving the management of its large fleet of smartphones, Toronto-based VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) has found a way to make its employees happier and to reduce costs significantly at the same time.
Through an alliance with Valet Wireless, a company that manages the distribution of the phones, retrieves them when employees leave, and fixes them when repairs or maintenance are needed, VHA is now saving over $30,000 a month.
“Healthcare can be a high turnover environment when it comes to human resources,” said Alistair Forsyth, CIO at VHA, a large, non-profit homecare agency. “We maintain about 2,200 smartphones across the organization, but we were losing too many devices each month as employees left and didn’t turn in their phones.”
“Before, we were replacing nearly 30 percent of our phones each year,” he said. “Now, we’re at a 96 percent return rate.”
Forsyth noted that smartphones have become a lifeline for visiting nurses and support workers providing care to clients. Staff run pretty much everything they need on their phones – including electronic patient records, emails, scheduling
software, and programs tracking expenses.
But the devices are expensive, costing hundreds of dollars per unit.
So, when they’re lost or not turned in, it’s a great cost to VHA.
For its part, Valet Wireless has instituted a wide-ranging service that makes it easy for employees to return or repair their devices. Before, it was inconvenient and sometimes difficult to give back devices, especially for employees working in the community who otherwise weren’t coming into the office.
Now, Valet Wireless quickly contacts departing employees about their phones and provides instructions on how to return them with very little effort.
“Our returns process is inspired by Amazon,” said Gerry Skipwith, president of Valet Wireless. “We make it very easy for employees to return their devices. We send a return package with everything the individual needs – instructions, packaging, shipping slips and a number to call if they need help. There’s no cost to them and very little trouble.”
For that reason, VHA is now getting most of its phones back. After receiving the returned device, Valet Wireless then refurbishes it so the phone can be used again by new employees.
“Especially with the custom VHAbranded skins, the refurbished phones look brand new,” said Skipwith.
Valet Wireless also sets up the phones with all the mobile applications VHA employees need to do their work. And to activate the software, all team members have to do is enter a temporary password and they’re up-and-running.
The company has taken over much of the everyday troubleshooting for VHA
Valet Wireless manages fleets of smartphones for clients, setting them up for staff and solving problems for them.
and provides 24x7 technical support for the phones when nurses, therapists and support workers run into issues.
“It used to be that 40 to 50 percent of the calls to our service desk were about phones or logins and password-related problems,” said Forsyth. “Now, Valet Wireless takes care of these issues and our own service desk can focus on more value-added work.”
For example, VHA’s Digital team has been working on the creation of a Nat-
ural Language Processing powered chatbot for its myVHA client portal that would allow homecare clients and family members to communicate with the portal in everyday language.
VHA’s frontline staff are much happier about repairs and troubleshooting, too. It used to be that if a phone broke or developed a problem, the employee needed to bring it into VHA’s Toronto head office. As VHA team members work in communities across southern Ontario, this was sometimes a major undertaking. It would involve lost time waiting for the repair – time that could have been spent caring for clients.
In contrast, the Valet Wireless team tries to solve issues over the phone or online. And if the phone has a physical issue, the employee simply puts it into an envelope, and it’s couriered back for repair. A working device is returned to them in less than a day. It’s both quick and simple.
Forsyth said the ease and speed with which phone problems and repairs are now handled has done wonders for employee relations. That’s because the aim now is to reduce time and trouble for the staff, making the fix simple and easy, so they are able to focus their time on providing client care.
Dr. Rob Arntfield, CEO of Deep Breathe AI.
The missing piece in AI adoption: Real-time performance monitoring
BY JEFF VACHON
The radiology software industry estimates that up to 15-25 percent of medical imaging providers have deployed AI image analysis, often as tests and pilot projects. The goal, of course, is to test the AI solution and if successful, graft it onto regular clinical practice.
ing algorithm accuracy and performance in real-time clinical practice.
The cautious uptake of AI is attributed to various factors, most notably the absence of effective methods to monitor AI performance in practical settings. This involves the challenge of accurately measur-
Ensuring the transparency and accuracy of AI algorithms is crucial for fostering trust among clinicians, patients, and regulatory bodies.
It assists the radiologists to better un-
derstand and have greater confidence in the AI-driven decision-making process. And as a support tool, AI can lead to more confident and informed decision making.
AI Performance Monitoring should provide clear metrics on the performance impact of all AI algorithms. It should include measures such as accuracy, and any limitations or biases present in the AI’s predictions based on the real-world data of the client’s own patient demographics.
Tracking factors also include Concordance, Discordance, Sensitivity, and Specificity.
Alongside the immediate benefits of real-time monitoring, longer-term monitoring provides invaluable Drift reporting, the predictive analysis of performance over time. AI metrics should also assess the impact on radiology productivity, determining the effectiveness and efficiencies of AI in a busy radiology practice.
To effectively oversee and enhance AI systems, it is helpful to use a specialized integration platform.
A platform enables healthcare organizations to deploy multiple AI algorithms across different clinical subspecialties and operational areas via a single point of contact and contract.
Applications that monitor AI performance will then complement all clinical applications deployed on the platform.
One example of such a platform is the Bialogics system, which resulted from an alliance between the Canadian developer Bialogics Analytics and Scotland-based Blackford Analysis.
“The collaboration between Blackford and Bialogics Analytics creates a real-time feedback system for AI outcome management and performance analytics with the goal to improve clinician confidence and workflows and ultimately patient outcomes,” commented Ben Panter, founder and CEO of Blackford.
The platform extracts data from any one of a multitude of AI algorithms and measures output and integrated performance metrics. It does this via a real-time dashboard covering Concordance, Discordance, Sensitivity, Specificity, as well as Drift Reporting, enabling accurate performance analysis and productivity predictions.
Is your radiology organization AI dataready? Preparing a radiology organization for AI data readiness, involves the establishment of an integrated system that is vendoragnostic and adaptable to AI technologies. This system must be capable of aggregating data from multiple Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS), as well as outputs from various AI algorithms and the clinical findings by radiologists.
The output of the AI algorithms, essentially the AI algorithm findings, is often collected using secondary capture and DICOM overlay techniques and typically stored within the DICOM header.
This output when extracted is then compared to the previously collected oper-
Jeff Vachon
ational and clinical data and the result of this comparison comprises AI Performance Monitoring. The integration and analysis of data from many diverse sources is critical to AI Performance Monitoring.
The operational data from the radiology workflow is integrated with the clinical data which is then extracted and analyzed by machine learning (ML) engines. These analyze the text of the radiology report using Natural Language Processing (NLP).
AI performance monitoring metrics: There are five primary operational analytics that need to be measured to provide real-time monitoring of AI in the radiology environment.
1. Concordance/Discordance Analysis: Concordance and Discordance reporting within radiology AI involves contrasting the diagnoses or assessments generated by the AI system against those determined by radiologists, often regarded as the ‘ground truth’. It’s a straightforward assessment that entails comparing the AI’s binary output with the findings of the radiologist. Concordance being the number of times both AI and radiology findings are concurrent, and Discordance being the number of times findings are not concurrent.
2. Sensitivity and Specificity: These measurements play a vital role in evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of AI algorithms in radiology. A balance between sensitivity and specificity is essential.
• Sensitivity: Indicates the proportion of actual positive cases correctly identified by the AI system. It measures the ability of algorithms to correctly identify individuals with a certain condition.
• Specificity: Measures the proportion of actual negative cases correctly identified by the AI system. It measures the ability of the algorithm to correctly identify individuals who do not have a certain condition.
3. AI Confidence Scoring: In radiology, this refers to the algorithm’s assessment or estimation of its own reliability or certainty regarding a particular diagnosis or decision made based on the imaging data.
When an AI system analyzes medical images, it doesn’t just provide a diagnosis but often assigns a level of confidence or certainty to that diagnosis.
However, not all AI algorithms calculate this value. Confidence scoring involves the AI algorithm assigning a probability or confidence level to its output, indicating how confident it is about the accuracy of its assessment.
4. AI Impact on Radiology Efficiency: Using pre- and post-AI evaluation times. For example, Radiologist Turn Around Times (TAT), Read Times and Productivity measurements like Relative Value Units (RVU), all of which combine the messages from HL7, DICOM, look up tables and the conversion of unstructured textual data to structured data from the clinical report using Natural Language Processing can create;.
• Efficiency measurements assist in allocating resources effectively. Identifying which cases or modalities benefit the most from AI assistance helps in directing resources and AI tools to areas where they can make the most significant impact.
• Effectiveness monitoring enables the comparison of radiologist read times before and after AI implementation for the assessment of AI’s effectiveness. If there’s a
notable reduction in read times without compromising diagnostic accuracy, it showcases the productivity gains achieved through AI integration.
5. AI Drift Reporting and Predictive Trending: AI Drift refers to the gradual change or degradation in the performance of an AI algorithm over time due to various factors such as changes in data patterns, evolving patient demographics,
or changes in modality configurations.
Drift reporting involves the continuous assessment and analysis of AI algorithm performance against a set of predefined benchmarks or standards.
Any deviations or discrepancies in the algorithm’s performance from the expected standards are either identified in real-time or more likely over a period of time, to see progressive changes in the
number of discrepancies, or changes to key metrics being used to measure the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Predictive trending involves forecasting future patterns or trends based on historical data and ongoing observations from AI algorithms.
Jeff Vachon is the Founder and President of Bialogics Analytics.
Hyperfine Swoop, a portable MRI, comes to Iqaluit in Canada’s far north
BY JERRY ZEIDENBERG
IQALUIT – Nunavut has deployed a portable MRI machine, the Hyperfine Swoop, at the sole hospital in the region – the 26-bed Qikiqtani General Hospital. It’s the first MRI in the territory, and the eighth unit of its kind to be rolled out across Canada.
The Swoop unit, an MRI on wheels, is primarily for head exams, and uses an ultra-low magnetic field of 64 mT. (That compares with 1.5T to 3T for conventional MRI scanners.)
It plugs into a standard electrical outlet and after being switched on, it’s ready to go in about two minutes. It uses about 900 watts of power – about the same amount as a coffee-maker.
Nevertheless, it has a great deal of utility for the region, as it enables clinicians to quickly assess whether patients have suffered strokes or the extent of damage from trauma, such as falls and car collisions.
The initial reason the device was acquired was to fill in for an aging CT machine, which was scheduled to go out of commission on June 8. It would be another six weeks before the new one was upand-running.
Meanwhile, the plug-and-play Swoop enables the hospital to conduct many of the most urgent exams – such as determining whether it’s a bleed when a person falls off a bike or on the ice. And the exams can be done at the point-of-care, at relatively low cost.
“We’ve been doing 80 head CTs each month with patients from the emergency room and on the ward,” said Dr. Francois de Wet, Territorial chief of staff for Nunavut. “If we were to Medivac these pa-
tients to Ottawa for a CT, the cost would be approximately $40,000 per patient.”
He noted the cost of transporting these patients would be at least $4.8 million.
Meanwhile, the Hyperfine Swoop was acquired for less than $1 million – about $640,000 for the machine and another $300,000 for a five-year service contract.
It’s a significant savings right off the bat, and it means that patients from Nunavut don’t have to travel south for head CTs; instead, they can most likely be imaged in Iqaluit.
“We have better cultural supports for Nunavummiut, here in the community,” said Dr. de Wet. “And by imaging them here, they lose less time from work.”
Hyperfine is based in United States, but its Canadian implementations are managed by UpCare Partners & Associates, of Toronto. Dr. de Wet was pleased that it only took one week to integrate the MRI
with the hospital systems, including its Change Healthcare PACS, and to train staff on how to use it.
“It’s very easy to use,” he said. “You control everything using an iPad.”
By contrast, installing a traditional MRI in the Iqaluit hospital could take years. It would require a special room, when space is already at a premium in the medical centre.
Construction is slower in the north, moreover, as equipment and supplies must all come in by ship. It’s more expensive, too.
There may be a regular MRI implemented in the future, but for now, the new CT will be relied upon. And the centre will continue to use the portable MRI, as it provides the hospital with some unique capabilities.
For one thing, it can be wheeled right to the patient’s bedside, instead of requiring
the patient to be transported to the radiology department. This will be particularly useful in cases where patients are intubated, for example, or in the ICU.
“Even patients on a ventilator,” said Dr. de Wet.
“The MRI uses less radiation, and in some cases the images are better than CT,” he observed.
Of course, when a patient needs a head MRI, they won’t always have to go to Ottawa anymore.
He added, “This adds to our diagnostic options.”
Jennifer Sharpe, manager of decision support for Nunavut Health, said the turnaround time for reading urgent exams is very fast.
Technologists conduct CT and MRI exams at the hospital, and the studies are read online by a team of radiologists in Ottawa. For urgent cases, the results usually appear in 45 minutes to one hour. “And no more than four hours,” said Sharpe.
Non-urgent studies, however, can take a week or more to be read and reported.
In addition to CT and MRI, the hospital also offers X-ray exams and ultrasound. It also sends technologists to the surrounding communities to conduct ultrasounds locally, so that patients don’t always have to travel far.
Nunavut Health has also established Xray machines in all of the communities for the same reasons.
Dr. de Wet acknowledged the support of the Minister of Health, The Hon John Main, and the Deputy Minister of Health, Megan Hunt in bringing the portable MRI to Iqaluit. It’s a marvelous acquisition for the region, he said, as it helps on so many counts – medical, cultural and economic.
Upgraded PACS in NWT allows clinicians to share images more easily
BY NORM TOLLINSKY
Providing diagnostic imaging services for a population of 45,000 across a region as vast as the Northwest Territories can be a real challenge, but a new picture archiving and communication system (PACS) acquired by the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for the delivery of radiology services is making a huge difference.
In February, DHSS retired its AGFA IMPAX system and went live with an AGFA HealthCare Enterprise Imaging (EI) platform that offers speedier transmission of images from remote communities across the territory to Yellowknife’s Stanton Territorial Hospital and a private reading service in Alberta.
The new system also provides improved clinical tools, increased storage capacity, better auditing features and the ability to share images for clinical consultations, said John Bowser, DHSS’s manager of project management services.
Additionally, the EI platform fea-
tures a fully functional auxiliary system that can serve as a backup. It provides business continuity and disaster recovery to ensure 24x7 access in virtually any situation.
“Clinical access and continuity of care are paramount across the territory’s geography when emergency situations arise and speed-to-care can significantly impact outcomes,” said Lisa Shoniker, AGFA HealthCare’s regional vice president, sales, who worked with the DHSS on the transition to the new Enterprise Imaging platform.
“A decision was made to conduct a public procurement process and acquire a new solution when we learned that our PACS storage was due for replacement and that Agfa was due to end support for its IMPAX system,” said Bowser.
The NWT Health and Social Services Authorities have an extensive fleet of X-ray, ultrasound, CT, mammogram, fluoroscopy and bone mineral density imaging devices in 18 community health centres, four hospitals and primary care clinics across the region’s 1,346,000 square kilometres, an area
larger than France, Germany and Poland combined.
However, the Northwest Territories has no resident radiologists and relies on locums and a private reading service in Alberta.
Bandwidth challenges in the past required a hub and spoke architecture with some storage in remote communities, but the new centrally located EI
Earlier this year, the Northwest Territories went live with an AGFA Healthcare Enterprise imaging platform.
platform in the Territories’ capital, Yellowknife, allows for much faster transmission and sharing of images.
“Previously, only clinicians at Stanton had access to imaging performed anywhere else in the Territories,” said Dr. Marius Diaconescu, a Montreal-based radiologist who does locums in Yellowknife. “Now, clinicians in remote communities have access to imaging performed anywhere else in the Northwest
Territories. This can help a lot by providing clinicians with an imaging history of patients.”
For example, Diaconescu cited a call he received from a doctor in a remote community about a pediatric patient with a suspected fracture.
“In such a circumstance, they would have sent the patient with the child’s family to Stanton to be evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon, but because of the new system, they also had access to imaging that was done a few weeks earlier on the patient somewhere else in the Northwest Territories that documented the same finding.
“That’s what prompted the doctor to call me for a second opinion. I could tell that what we were looking at was actually a growth plate, an area of active, new bone growth made up of cartilage that eventually hardens into bone. They’re found in all children, but can sometimes be misdiagnosed as fractures even by experienced radiologists.”
Being able to identify a growth plate allowed Dr. Diaconescu and the doctor in the remote community to provide a
Using the portable MRI, exams are taken at bedside in Iqaluit and quickly read by radiologists in Ottawa.
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RAD-AID brings imaging technology and training to a hospital in Kathmandu
RAD-AID is dedicated to improving healthcare in underserved areas like Nepal.
BY JASON NAGELS
Picture a father in Kathmandu, navigating the crowded streets to reach Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) with his child, who has sustained a painful fall. Upon their arrival, they undergo a paper-based registration process. They receive a new hospital card – a stark reminder of the manual procedures in a healthcare journey that contrasts sharply with the digital immediacy typical in high-income countries.
While seemingly minor, the reliance on paper documents underscores the broader complexities patients in Nepal and other developing nations must navigate.
Enter RAD-AID, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare in underserved areas through enhanced radiology services and education. My recent mission with RAD-AID to Nepal underscored the critical importance of their work in saving lives and highlighted the ongoing need for robust support.
I was introduced to RAD-AID in 2017 and was honoured to be selected as the 2018 SIIM/RAD-AID Global Ambassador. Since then, I have had the privilege of volunteering for RAD-AID on several different missions, initially bringing me to Ghana and eventually to Nepal.
Overview of the trip: My latest venture to Nepal –my third engagement with RAD-AID – brought me back to Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH). Approximately 18 months ago, TUTH adopted a PACS system, and I assisted in addressing the initial challenges, such as slow retrieval speeds and network issues.
During this visit, our focus shifted towards enhancing workflow efficiencies, promoting continuous education, and advancing towards more sophisticated medical imaging technologies.
Challenges faced: Despite the modern PACS system that has recently been installed, TUTH is encountering significant hurdles. A crucial missing component is a unified Hospital Information System (HIS)/Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and a Radi-
ology Information System (RIS). This absence forces technologists to enter patient data manually, increasing the risk of errors such as misfiled records, which could compromise a patient’s medical history. Furthermore, their paper-based patient registration system creates continuity challenges if patients misplace their hospital cards.
Moreover, their lack of an RIS means their reporting workflow is still predominantly paper-based. We dedicated our efforts to designing a new workflow
Through RAD-AID we are not only upgrading healthcare technology but empowering local professionals to sustain these advancements.
and conducting training sessions to digitize the signing and attaching of reports to the PACS system. Innovations and solutions: A highlight of the trip was the integration of AI diagnostics into the PACS. The project integrates several AI systems into the PACS workflows, such as the automated interpretation of chest X-ray images. This integration represents a significant advancement in clinical efficiency. However, some challenges persisted, as confident clinicians preferred using third-party viewers which do not display AI results.
Education and capacity building: Education remains a foundational pillar of RAD-AID’s initiatives. Traditional face-to-face teaching, while practical, brings challenges such as high costs, limited accessibility, and scalability issues.
In response, RAD-AID has teamed up with Nagels Consulting, a Canadian firm specializing in Imaging Informatics education and consultation. Nagels Consulting has developed an on-demand course titled” IMG_101: Introduction to Imaging Informatics.”
This course, enriched with videos and interactive exercises, not only enhances skills at TUTH but also reaches a global audience through a certificate program recognized by ASRT. Binod Bhattarai, the PACS Administrator for TUTH, has recently enrolled in the program and has praised its flexible scheduling and interactive format.
Further reflections: This collaborative model not only accelerates the adoption of new technologies but also ensures that advancements are meaningfully integrated into the healthcare system, ultimately enhancing the quality of patient care and optimizing clinical workflows.
Conclusion: As we navigate the complexities of medical imaging, initiatives like RAD-AID are crucial in sharing healthcare technology knowledge around the world. By fostering technology adoption and education in regions that need it most, we are not merely upgrading equipment but empowering local professionals to sustain these advancements. The journey with RAD-AID to Nepal vividly illustrates what can be achieved collectively, pushing the boundaries to make exceptional healthcare a global standard, not a privilege.
Jason Nagels , an authority in Imaging Informatics, cochairs the HIMSS/SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community and chairs the Canada Health Infoway Enterprise Imaging Community. As the Principal of Nagels Consulting, he provides strategic guidance, drawing from his experience implementing radiology systems globally, including in Ghana, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia, and co-hosts SIIMCast, the official podcast of the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.
Proliferation of alarms affects nurse fatigue and quality of care
An incessant problem in hospitals is the overabundance of alarms – every device, hospital bed and piece of equipment, from monitors to ventilators to infusion pumps to pulse oximeters – has its own alarm. It can add up to hundreds of thousands of separate alarms.
“I just read an article less than two months ago from the American Nurses Association. It was a retrospective on alarm fatigue. Why do we still have this problem?” asked Jan Capps, director of Clinical Ser-
vices and Outcomes at Connexall.
The fact is the proliferation of alarms and audible notifications has increased. For more than 10 years, “use alarms safely” has made the top 10 list of U.S. National Patient Safety Goals issued by The Joint Commission. The problem persists.
Capps has had a front row seat to this phenomenon. “I started my career in the emergency department 26 years ago,” she explains. “I’ve seen the impact of technology on healthcare evolve greatly over time.”
Capps was a practicing nurse
when she completed her master’s degree in 2007. She ascended into management roles at several organi-
For 10 years, alarm safety has been on the Joint Commission list of the Top 10 goals for patient safety.
zations, serving as both a nursing and technology leader. During this time, “I was in on the cutting edge of informatics. It was
not a certified profession when I completed my master’s degree. It was born out in the field when people like me began using these tools and technologies.”
The basis of informatics, Capps explains, is “getting the right information to the right person at the right time in the right context.” It should add value and be actionable. Her last clinical role was as head of informatics for a major hospital system.
When Capps began looking for
Jason Nagels and Binod Bhattarai, PACS Administrator at TUTH
Examining healthcare’s triple squeeze – and three remedies for it
BY RIKKI JENNINGS, BSN, RN, CPN
The lingering side effects of the pandemic are threatening to morph into chronic issues for the healthcare sector. Healthcare organizations and providers continue to face a trifecta of challenges: accelerated digitization, labour burnout and gaps, and an aging population. Let’s look at the issues.
Dealing with mandated digitization: Digital healthcare is here to stay. This means the need to transform and adhere to digital healthcare standards is non-negotiable for healthcare providers. As the norm is to identify everyone and everything in all healthcare settings, the industry is focused on digital identity for all patients and assets to improve asset management.
Digital health regulations have been enacted in over 60 countries. These mandates include unique device identification (UDI) and medication serialized marking – to which healthcare organizations must comply.
Nurses and staff burnout: According to Zebra’s Healthcare Vision Study, about two-thirds of clinicians and nearly 70 percent of decisionmakers in the U.S. and UK agree that physicians and caregivers are overextended during their shifts. McKinsey’s global nursing survey revealed that in five out of seven countries surveyed, between 20 percent to 38 percent of respondents said they wanted to leave their current direct-patient-care role.
The losing side of longevity: Almost 20 percent of the Canadian population was over 65 years of age in 2022, according to Statistics Canada, and over the next 20 years, Canada’s population of those aged 65 and older is expected to grow by 68 percent. But there’s a big difference between aging and aging well. According to the World Health Organization, common conditions in older people include hearing loss, osteoarthritis, diabetes, depression, dementia, and more. While longevity is an achievement of modern healthcare, health-related challenges are a very real concern requiring help from doctors, nurses, and other specialist and ancillary support staff and result in more pressure for an already overstretched workforce.
A triple tech solution: Indeed, it is a triple squeeze. However, three proven remedies are available, accessible, and ready to enable the healthcare industry to overcome these challenges to thrive now and in the future.
• Use specialized healthcare mobile computers and tablets. Let’s start with what’s in the hands of many healthcare clinicians and staff as they scan digital patient wristbands, medications, supplies, equipment, and more. Hospitals and other healthcare organizations need to shift their mentality from the idea that a consumer device is adequate for their needs. It’s not. Errors result from poor quality scanning, the inability to withstand repeated disinfecting
and wiping, shorter and diminishing battery life, multiplication of third-party apps, security concerns, and increased susceptibility to breaks and cracked screens. Doctors, nurses, and patients deserve specialized handheld computers and tablets purpose built for healthcare set-
tings with features designed with healthcare users in mind.
• Track and trace in real time. Radio frequency identification (RFID), barcoding, and real-time location and tracking solutions are solutions that should also be considered. They enable hospital staff to
track and locate patients, medical equipment, specimens, and any other critical resources that are likely to move around a hospital in real time. Time can be wasted looking for needed items and during patient and shift handovers. Sometimes,
The finance, HR, and supply chain system that adapts to changes in healthcare.
In healthcare today, agility alone isn’t enough. To keep up with whatever comes your way, healthcare organizations need to plan continuously and prepare for all possibilities. Workday allows you to do just that by providing real-time visibility to reduce costs and boost revenues without compromising care.
Workday. For a changing world.™
Rikki Jennings
Annual directory of leading healthcare information-technology suppliers
AGFA HealthCare
375 Hagey Blvd
Waterloo ON N2L 6R5
T: 647-710-2197
E-mail: jacky.polesello@agfa.com
Contact: Jacky Polesello
Web: https://www.agfahealthcare.com
AGFA HealthCare empowers healthcare providers to maximize their use of patient imaging across the enterprise-wide continuum of care. Our cutting-edge Enterprise Imaging Platform is designed to build a connected, collaborative, and scalable community of care. The secure platform offers an Imaging Health Record that seamlessly integrates with the Electronic Health Record, enabling your team to access information regardless of its origin. Our platform ensures clinically efficient, scalable, and sustainable management of imaging data. With features such as seamless integration, customizable workflows, cross-team collaboration, and AI-powered automation, providers can achieve their business objectives and organizational goals – all while enhancing productivity and enable clinicians to focus on the most critical aspect: diagnosis and treatment for patients.
AlayaCare
480 University Avenue, 12th Floor Toronto ON M5G 1V2
T: 647-668-6369
E-mail: sales@alayacare.com
Contact: Steph Davidson
AlayaCare offers an end-to-end software platform for home and community care providers to manage the entire client lifecycle from referrals and intake to billing, payroll and beyond. Combining traditional in-home and virtual care solutions, AlayaCare enables care providers across the world to propel towards innovation and healthcare of the future.
Alcidion
9 Yarra Street, Level 10 South Yarra, Victoria 3141
Australia
T: +61 8 8208 4612
E-mail: info@alcidion.com
Contact: Adam Nabali
Web: https://www.alcidion.com/ Alcidion is an Australian healthcare technology company that has a track record of providing leading software solutions to hospitals and healthcare providers. We offer a range of products and services that aim to improve the safety, efficiency, and quality of patient care. Alcidion’s software solutions include patient flow management and command centre systems, modular electronic medical record systems, patient administration systems, and advanced real-time data management and analytics solutions. These solutions are FHIR event based, integrated, or they can be implemented in a modular approach in combination with other health solutions.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
120 Bremner Blvd
Toronto ON M5J 0A8
T: 1-416-309-5300
E-mail: pmiedzik@amazon.com
Contact: Paul Miedzik
Web: https://aws.amazon.com/health/
AWS is the trusted technology and innovation partner to the global healthcare and life sciences industry, providing unmatched reliability, security, and data privacy. AWS for Health provides an offering of AWS services and AWS Partner solutions, used by thousands of customers globally.
Ampronix Medical Imaging Technology
15 Whatney Irvine CA 92618 USA
T: 1-949-544-7026
Email: contact@ampronix.com
Contact: Michael Thomas Web: https://www.ampronix.com/
Ampronix is a Global Leader in Medical Sales – Service – Repair. We currently sell products throughout Canada, USA and into 154 Countries since 1982. We sell 8 MP Cath Lab Monitors, 4K 3D Surgical Monitors, 5 MP – 12 MP Mammo Monitors, Printers, Media, Medical Recorders & More! Contact Us Today for Premier Pricing!
Aquity Canada ULC
7501 Keele Street, Suite 305
Concord ON L4K 1Y2
T: 905-695-7000 ext 5029 F: 905-695-7020
E-mail: Carey.silverstein@aquitysolutions.com
Contact: Carey Silverstein Web: http://www.aquitysolutions.com
Largest Canadian provider of medical transcription and dictation solutions for over 35 years.
Arya Health
151 W Hastings Street Spaces Gastown Vancouver BC V3G 0A7
T: 604-774-5091
E-mail: info@aryaehr.com
Contact: Matt Pidlisecky
Web: http://www.aryaehr.com
Arya EHR is an advanced electronic health record (EHR) system designed by doctors for doctors to streamline medical workflows and enhance patient care. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features, Arya EHR enables healthcare providers to efficiently manage patient records, track medical histories, schedule appointments, and facilitate seamless communication within the healthcare ecosystem. Fall in love with your EHR.
Ascom
300 Perimeter Park Drive
Morrisville NC 27560 USA
T: 647-271-5072
E-mail: Shelly.Bond@Ascom.com
Contact: Shelly Bond
Web: www.ascom.com/north-america
Ascom is a global solutions provider focused on healthcare workflow solutions. Ascom’s unique solutions portfolio and software architecture provides integration and Clinical Communication and Collaboration solutions that deliver smooth, complete, and efficient workflows for healthcare. The Ascom Healthcare Platform features Integrated Workflow Intelligence. This innovative, yet practical solution can make a profound contribution towards more affordable and sustainable healthcare systems and bring healthcare management closer to the people that really matter, your patients and frontline staff. The Ascom Healthcare Platform includes both wireless and wired nurse call emergency call systems.
Auxita
65 Denzil Doyle Court Suite 201
Ottawa ON K2M 2G8
T: 613-800-5585
E-mail: julie.tremblay@auxita.com
Contact: Julie Tremblay Roy
Web: https://www.auxita.com/
Work with patients, not paperwork. It’s time to reshape your practice with Auxita: the digital platform that connects clinics, patients, pharmacies, insurance providers, and patient support programs (PSPs) together – securely and seamlessly – to deliver care faster, and better.
Best Buy Health by Best Buy Canada Ltd.
Suite #102, 425 West 6th Avenue
Vancouver BC V5Y 1L3
T: 778-452-3555
E-mail: jercarson@bestbuycanada.ca
Contact: Jeremy Carson
Web: bestbuy.ca/health
Best Buy Healthy Homes has been designed to make shopping for health, wellness, and mobility technology easier, in support of better health outcomes for Canadians. Here you can find latest and greatest health-focused solutions from reliable brands and learn about in-home implementation by Geek Squad if support is needed.
Bialogics Analytics Inc.
16 Industrial Parkway S
Aurora ON L4G 0R4
T: 416-580-2659
E-mail: info@bialogics.com
Contact: Jeff Vachon
Web: www.bialogics.com
Bialogics is a leader in the precision analysis of diagnostic imaging data and patient workflows, creating a real-time ecosystem for driving the accelerated use of clinical and operational data to improve business performance, and clinical outcomes.
Bright Health Solutions Society
55 Water Street, Suite 408
Vancouver BC V6B 1A1
T: 1-250-564-2644 F: 1-250-564-2655
E-mail: info@brighthealth.ca
Contact: Bill Gordon Web: https://www.brighthealth.ca
At Bright Health we design and build software solutions to deliver the best patient and provider experiences. Our goal is to enable our customers to provide optimum care and realize better outcomes. Our software tools include MOIS, a robust, standards based EMR, and myhealthkey, a tightly integrated personal health record application.
Brightsquid Secure Communications Corp.
3655 36 Street NW
Calgary AB T2L 1Y8
T: 800-238-6503
E-mail: jeff.mackay@brightsquid.com
Contact: Jeff MacKay Web: https://brightsquid.com/ Brightsquid provides secure digital communication tools and privacy compliance support services that safely create healthcare system efficiency and improve coordination across the circle of care to advance patient outcomes. Over 14,000 Canadian healthcare organizations use Brightsquid Secure-Mail to securely accelerate patient data exchange for better integrated team-based care.
cyber threats is not just a matter of compliance. Still, a vital aspect of patient trust and safety. Calian’s advanced cybersecurity solutions for healthcare organizations are developed from decades of experience and a deep understanding of cybersecurity requirements for the healthcare industry.
Canon Medical Systems Canada Limited
75 Tiverton Court
Markham ON L3R 4M8
T: 905-470-3538
E-mail: sherry.lyons@medical.canon
Contact: Sherry Lyons
Web: https://ca.medical.canon/
For more than 100 years, Canon Medical has been at the cutting edge of diagnostic imaging, creating healthcare solutions that can help enrich life for everyone. Our full range of diagnostic medical imaging solutions – CT, PET-CT, MR, X-Ray, Angiography, Ultrasound, and Healthcare Informatics – coupled with deep learning technologies deliver uncompromised quality, insight, and value across the entire global care pathway.
Carestream Health Canada Company
290 Caldari Road, M1-20
Vaughan ON L4K 4J4
T: 1-866-792-5011
E-mail: info-canada@carestream.com
Contact: Jonathan Neville
From Imaging Centers to community hospitals to large academic providers, we offer flexible imaging solutions that can be tailored to your facility’s needs and budget. Accelerate and evolve your digital transition with wireless DR solutions; both in-room and mobile, advanced imaging software and more – all designed to improve workflow, staff productivity and the quality of patient care, while reducing your costs.
Deep Breathe
100 Collip Circle, Suite 240 London ON N6G 4X8
T: 519-639-4941
E-mail: general@deepbreathe.ai
Contact: Hanna Ke
Website: https://www.deepbreathe.ai/
Deep Breathe is unlocking portable lung imaging: anybody-anytime-anywhere lung imaging with AI and ultrasound.
Empower Health
150 King Street W, Unit 200 Toronto ON M5H 1J9
T: 1-844-234-6277
E-mail: team@empower.ca
Contact: Olivier Sorin
Web: https://empower.ca
Empower Health is a national digital health platform providing equitable access to healthcare for everyone in Canada, while improving clinical operations at primary care, urgent care, hospitals, allied health clinics, pharmacies, and virtual clinics. Our regional and local initiatives reduce healthcare costs and clinician burnout by unlocking the potential of data-driven healthcare.
EMREACH Inc.
Calian Group
770 Palladium Drive, 4th Floor Ottawa ON K2V 1C8
T: 613-552-1368
Contact: Elaine Brennan
Web: https://www.calian.com/health/
For over 20 years, we’ve provided sophisticated, cost-effective solutions that help people lead healthy lives. Calian’s cutting-edge digital health solutions are designed to enhance access to highquality healthcare by seamlessly connecting patients and care providers. Our solutions facilitate secure communication and collaboration within care teams, aiming for improved patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations are prime targets for cybercriminals. Protecting patient data against
Enovacom
770 rue Sherbrooke Ouest
Suite 1500
Orange Business
Montreal QC H3A 1G1
T: 514-992-4268
E-mail: alarochelle@enovacom.com
Contact: Alain Larochelle
Web: https://www.enovacom.com/
As a unique interoperability solution provider 100% dedicated to healthcare for over 20 years, Enovacom has been working to improve the lives of healthcare professionals. Their solutions enable the access, capture, transformation and sharing of health data. Their mission is clear: use data to save time for care.
Fresenius Kabi
165 Galaxy Blvd
Unit 100
Toronto ON M9W 0C8
T: 1-877-779-7760 F: 1-844-513-1522
E-mail: lucy.chen@fresenius-kabi.com
Contact: Lucy Chen
Web: https://www.fresenius-kabi.ca
Fresenius Kabi is a leading global healthcare company specializing in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion, and parenteral nutrition. Our products and services help care for critically and chronically ill patients across Canada. We offer a range of innovative infusion therapy solutions for healthcare organizations.
GoldCare
600 Weber Street N, Unit C Waterloo ON N2V 1K4
T: 1-800-463-2688
E-mail: al.hamilton@mygoldcare.com
Contact: Al Hamilton
Web: https://www.mygoldcare.com/
Cloud-based Healthcare & Information Management Software for Home Health Care, Children’s Services and Long-Term Care Organizations. GoldCare is the only software provider that offers a complete, end-to-end solution, from client, staff and clinical management to reporting, mobile options and back-office financials with payroll.
Gotcare
1655 Dupont Street, Suite 101 Toronto ON M6P 3T1
T: 1-888-819-1244
Contact: Carol MacDonald
Human contact within 30 minutes. We help your clients figure out the care they need – and then deliver it straight to their door. Gotcare is your partner from the beginning to the end of a client’s care journey by bringing personalized, datadriven and effective care from urban centres to rural locations across Canada.
Harmony Healthcare IT
3454 Douglas Road
South Bend IN 46635 USA
T: 574-314-9302
E-mail: info@harmonyhit.com
Contact: Colleen Dalton
Web: http://www.harmonyHIT.com
GE HealthCare
1919 Minnesota Court
Mississauga ON L5N 0C9
T: 416-948-6608
E-mail: anukapoor@gehealthcare.com
Contact: Anu Kapoor
Web: https://www.gehealthcare.ca/
GE HealthCare is a leading global medical technology, pharmaceutical diagnostics, and digital solutions innovator, dedicated to providing integrated solutions, services, and data analytics to make hospitals more efficient, clinicians more effective, therapies more precise, and patients healthier and happier. Serving patients and providers for more than 125 years, GE HealthCare is advancing personalized, connected, and compassionate care, while simplifying the patient’s journey across the care pathway. Together our Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics businesses help improve patient care from diagnosis, to therapy, to monitoring.
Harmony Healthcare IT is a data management firm that moves and stores patient, employee, and business records for healthcare organizations. To strengthen care delivery and improve lives, vital information is preserved and managed in a way that keeps it accessible, releasable, usable, interoperable, secure, and compliant. Since 2006, our team of experts has worked with over 550 unique clinical, financial, and administrative software brands used in healthcare delivery organizations. That work includes data extraction, migration/conversion, archival, and integration.
1001 Champlain Avenue, Suite 204 Burlington ON L7L 5Z4
T: 289-337-1639
E-mail: dave.bard@emreach.ca
Contact: Dave Bard
Web: http://www.emreach.ca
Digitally Expedite Patient Access to Medications by Leveraging EMRs. Simplify Physicians’ Workflow and Remove Prescribing Barriers. EMREACH Smart Forms: Precision programming and EMR integration of drugrelated Forms. EMREACH Clinical Tools: Digitization and EMR integration of physician and patient-focused resources. EMR Drug Accelerator® Accelerate new drugs visibility to >90% physicians.
GoAutomate Inc.
Unit 14-75 Horner Avenue
Etobicoke ON M8Z 4X5
T: 416-729-7998
E-mail: jag.basrai@goautomate.ai
Contact: Jag Basrai
Web: https://www.goautomatemd.com
Streamline patient care using GoAutomateMD. Enhance efficiency and reduce staff burnout with our AI-driven workflow engines for seamless data interoperability. Replace paperwork with AIdriven digital capture that integrates effortlessly into existing hospital systems, featuring AIpowered e-Protocol. Explore our Requisition, Central Intake, Waitlist, and Prescription Management solutions.
Harris Healthcare
1 Antares Drive, Suite 400 Ottawa ON K2E 1C4
T: 800-393-0278 x1
E-mail: gbujold@harriscomputer.com
Contact: Guy Bujold Web: https://www.harrishealthcare.com/ Harris Healthcare is at the forefront of delivering innovative and sustainable solutions tailored for the dynamic landscape of today’s healthcare, enhancing patient care and safety. Our commitment to innovation is exemplified by our latest offering, Patient Timeline, a cutting-edge tool designed to revolutionize patient care. Alongside any EHR solution including our own HARRIS Flex, our comprehensive EHR system, Patient Timeline integrates seamlessly to any EHR offering unparalleled clinical decision support. It empowers healthcare providers to uphold the highest standards of care, ensuring adherence to protocols and best practices across any healthcare organization. Recognizing the ever-evolving challenges in healthcare, Patient Timeline provide the adaptability needed to swiftly tailor your EHR to the unique demands of your organization, ensuring your EHR evolves as rapidly as the healthcare landscape does.
Health Espresso
101-2275 Upper Middle Road E Oakville ON L6H 0C3
T: 905-491-6941
E-mail: info@healthespresso.com
Contact: Rick Menassa
Web: https://www.healthespresso.com/
Health Espresso provides a collaborative, patient-centred platform for community organizations, Physicians and Hospitals for a ‘One Patient, One Record, One Care Plan’ approach to care, chronicling the patient’s journey while reducing service overlaps and gaps. Health Espresso customizable intake registration auto-creates a digital patient profile and collaborative digital care plan, with optional assessments for system navigation, follows through with post-discharge remote patient monitoring for better health outcomes. Government certified Secure Messaging and Video tool connects practitioners and patients for consultation resulting in informed decisions at point-of-care.
HealthHub Solutions
2000 Argentia Road, Plaza 5, Unit 400 Mississauga ON L5N 1W1
T: 1-866-223-3686
E-mail: contactus@healthhubsolutions.ca
Contact: Scott Robertson
Web: https://healthhubsolutions.ca/
For over 57 years, HealthHub Solutions has partnered with Canadian patients, hospitals, and health systems to create a digital health aggregation platform that provides a humancentered, effortless experience. HealthHub tackles the biggest issues in healthcare by identifying and aggregating applications at the point of care, to optimize patient and staff experience, health outcomes and cost savings. HealthHub enables digital transformation for our partners in healthcare – and this starts at the bedside.
INFINITT North America
755 Memorial Parkway, Suite 304 Phillipsburg NJ 08865 USA
T: 908-346-6181
E-mail: info@infinittna.com
Contact: Jay Marteniuk
Web: https://www.infinittna.com/
INFINITT North America is a global enterprise imaging partner for medical institutions. We’re a wholly-owned subsidiary of INFINITT Healthcare, a global healthcare information technology company with world-class research and development capabilities and robust subspecialty and multi-facility solutions.
Island Corporation
1 Keyes Court, Unit 1
Vaughan ON L4H 4V6
T: 905-695-9129
E-mail: sales@island.ca
Contact: Isabelle Drolet
Web: https://island.ca/
We are a managed IT services company with a focus on security, risk mitigation, disaster recovery, network infrastructure and medical displays for radiology, pathology, and clinical applications. Contact us for special pricing on Barco medical displays available to all radiologists across Canada.
LG Electronics
20 Norelco Drive
North York ON M9L 2X6
Tel: 437-448-0730
Email: philip.jalbert@lge.com
Contact: Philip Jalbert
Website: https://www.lg.com/ca
LG’s innovative range of medical image technology put in service of the medical professionals with reliable devices designed to provide the most accurate diagnostic solutions.
Lumeca Health
10 Research Drive, Suite 220 Regina SK S4S 7J7
Healthquest Inc.
4246 97 Street NW, Suite 201 Edmonton AB T6E 5Z9
T: 866-438-3762 F: 780-434-6018
E-mail: info@microquest.ca
Contact: Brandon Blanck
Web: https://www.healthquest.ca/ Microquest Inc. is the provider of Healthquest, Alberta’s premier EMR, and the freely available dr2dr Secure Messaging system. Founded in 1993, Microquest has been delivering effective healthcare solutions for over 30 years. Healthquest provides a full suite of tools, including electronic charting, claim entry, appointment scheduling, online booking, automated appointment reminders, customizable patient fillable forms, and a complete set of virtual care tools.
InBodyCanada
4338 Innes Road, Suite 75
Ottawa ON K4A 3W3
T: 613-704-4286
E-mail: info@inbodycanada.ca
Contact: Eric Lavoie
Web: https://inbodycanada.ca/
InBody is an innovation-focused company with the goal of creating a better world for today and future generations to come. Our award-winning, medical-grade devices are used by professionals in the medical, fitness, research, and corporate wellness verticals. InBody delivers biomedical technologies and services in over 110 countries.
MEDITECH
7 Blue Hill River Road
Canton MA 02021 USA
T: 781-821-3000 F: 781-821-2199
E-mail: mmobasseri@meditech.com
Contact: Mitra Mobasseri
Web: https://ehr.meditech.com
As Canada’s leading HIS solution provider for over four decades, MEDITECH software facilitates care in nearly every jurisdiction. We’re also the leading supplier of complex health authority and multi-site clustered environments. MEDITECH empowers healthcare organizations around the globe to expand their vision of what’s possible with Expanse, the world’s most intelligent EHR platform.
MindSea Development Inc.
1701 Hollis Street, Suite 800 Halifax NS B3J 3M8
Tel: 902-237-0311
E-mail: alex.ferrari@mindsea.com
Contact: Alex Ferrari
Web: https://mindsea.com/
MindSea partners with Health-tech leaders to build custom mobile apps and web applications that empower patients and clinicians. On-Shore: Our Canadian-based development team ensures top-quality results, eliminating the risks often associated with outsourcing. Transparent: Avoid the common pitfalls of in-house software development. Leverage MindSea’s expertise to achieve your objectives more efficiently.
North West Telepharmacy Solutions
P.O. Box 606
Deep River ON K0J 1P0
T: 1-888-933-3065
E-mail: info@northwesttelepharmacy.ca
Contact: Kevin McDonald
Web: https://www.northwesttelepharmacy.ca
Pharmacist support for hospital pharmacy departments offered on a 24/7/365 basis. Now launching a Best Possible Medication History and Medication Reconciliation program at extended hours to meet Accreditation Canada standards. Call or email to find out how we can help your pharmacy challenges.
Nova Networks Inc.
255 Smyth Road
Ottawa ON K1H 8M7
T: 613-282-1468
E-mail: TRoffey@novanetworks.com
Contact: Tyson Roffey
Web: https://www.NovaNetworks.com
T: 1-844 658 6322
E-mail: sales@lumeca.com
Contact: Tom Douglass Web: https://lumeca.com/
A leading Canadian provider of digital health software solutions. Our diverse range of products includes: Virtual Clinic Software - This software enables you to establish and manage your own virtual clinic seamlessly; Virtual Care SoftwareFacilitate hybrid care models by integrating virtual care capabilities into existing clinic workflows; Dispatcher Video Solutions - Tailored solutions for emergency response teams and transport medicine, ensuring efficient communication and coordination during critical situations; Secure Provider-to-Provider Clinical Messaging Software - Streamline communication among healthcare professionals with our secure messaging platform.
MedInclude
454 Boettger Place Highnoon Drive Waterloo ON N2K 3N5
T: 647-219-7237
E-mail: oseunadetunji@gmail.com
Contact: Seun Adetunji
Web: https://medinclude.com/
MedInclude helps doctors better communicate with patients at point of care by simplifying medical information and translating it into multiple languages based on the patient’s preference. Doctor’s share the simplified information with patients by printing or via our patient portal.
platform helps radiologists automate what they can’t stand, surface what they can’t see, and identify what they can’t miss, while improving quality, efficiency, and outcomes.
Nuon Imaging Inc.
3221 97 Street NW Edmonton AB T6N 1B7
T: 866-455-3050
E-mail: info@nuonimaging.ca
Contact: Mark Little
Web: https://nuonimaging.ca/human-home/ Nuon Systems (a division of Nuon Imaging) provides customized diagnostic imaging IT solutions to meet the needs of Imaging clinics across Canada. We supply Digital Radiography (DR) & IT Hardware/Software from the industry’s most trusted manufacturers. In addition, we offer maintenance plans, general service & support to ensure your equipment is well-maintained, secure, and working perfectly for many years to come.
Your HIMSS Certified Technology PartnerSecurity Solutions - Managed ServicesProfessional Services - Digital SolutionsTechnical Services - Consulting - End-User Device Management.
Novari Health
1473 John Counter Blvd
Kingston ON K7M 8Z6
T: 613-531-3008
E-mail: sales@novarihealth.com
Contact: David Mosher
Web: http://www.novarihealth.com
Novari Health solutions enable customized workflows, paperless processes, waitlist management, central intake, and eBooking backed by real-time analytics. Headquartered in Canada, with offices in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, Novari is one of the largest Canadian based digital health solution providers. ISO 27001 certified, Novari is a Microsoft Partner.
Nuance, a Microsoft Company
One Microsoft Way
Redmond WA 98052 USA
T: 781-565-5000
E-mail: benjaminhebb@microsoft.com
Contact: Benjamin Hebb
Web: https://www.nuance.com/healthcare/diagnos tics-solutions.html
Microsoft and Nuance are leading the way in harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to transform imaging. Together, we offer a comprehensive solution portfolio that delivers real-time clinical intelligence across the workflow, from point-ofread to point-of-care. Our AI-powered reporting
Optum
10711 Cambie Road, Suite 130 Richmond BC V6X 3G5
T: 438-404-4334
E-mail: Benoit_Turenne@optum.com
Contact: Benoit Turenne
Web: https://www.changehealthcare.com/enterpris e-imaging
With more than 25+ years experience, Optum helps you unleash the full potential of your enterprise imaging strategy. To overcome imaging’s challenges, you need efficiencies that allow for workflow optimization, image sharing, and standardization across the enterprise. Let us help you strategize a solution with our on-prem or cloud-native PACS.
Oracle Canada
100 Milverton Drive Mississauga ON L5R 4H1
E-mail: dina.ibrahim@oracle.com
Contact: Dina Ibrahim
Web: https://www.oracle.com/ca-en/health/ Oracle is advancing health with better information by connecting technologies that unify data, empower individuals, and enable innovation across the health ecosystem. Connecting data will allow patients and physicians to make more informed decisions, enable automation that will drive efficiencies, and unleash innovation to make healthcare more holistic, accessible, and equitable.
Orion Health
120 Adelaide Street W, Suite 1010
Toronto ON M5H 1T1
T: 647-535-3853
E-mail: kara.hill@orionhealth.com
Contact: Kara Hill
Web: https://orionhealth.com/ca/
Orion Health is a leading global healthcare information technology company that develops software to advance population health. Underpinned by 30 years of innovation, Orion Health’s Unified Healthcare Platform, is a worldfirst, all-inclusive solution. It combines the primary applications needed to access and deliver care with a robust analytical data foundation.
OxyNov
109-725, boul. Lebourgneuf Québec QC G2J 0C4
T: 581-300-6114
E-mail: info@oxynov.com
Contact: Jasmin Lavoie
Web: https://www.oxynov.com/en/
The FreeO device is a revolution for the oxygen therapy field. It continuously and automatically adjusts each patient’s oxygen flow, accounting for individual needs and dynamics to help patients remain within the target oxygen saturation (SpO2) set by the clinician. Just as importantly, the FreeO device minimizes the duration of desaturation or severe supersaturation compared to conventional oxygen therapy.
PatientSERV Corporation
3280 Bloor Street W, Suite 1140
Toronto ON M8X 2X3
T: 1-800-385-3210
E-mail: info@patientserv.ca
Contact: Graham Cornford
Web: https://patientserv.ca/
PatientSERV is Canada’s premier uninsured services solution. Featuring EMR integrated, payment embedded software, full-service support and unparalleled expertise, PatientSERV makes management of non-insured services simple and convenient for staff and patients while also ensuring that physicians are fairly compensated for their time.
Pentavere Research Group Inc.
460 College Street, Unit 301 Toronto ON M6G 1A1
T: 647-702-8820
E-mail: info@pentavere.com
Contact: Aviva Pratzer Web: https://pentavere.ai/
PENTAVERE is a patient identification company that has built a best-in-class AI engine to identify patients that are eligible for available treatments, improving outcomes for patients and helping drive therapy growth and penetration.
Petal
150 King Street W, Suite 306-02
Toronto ON M5H 1J9
T: 888-949-8601
E-mail: vbrasseur@petal-health.com
Contact: Valerie Brasseur
Web: https://www.petal-health.com/ Petal, a leading Canadian health technology solutions and consulting company, enhances healthcare by improving care delivery across the continuum. Through real-time orchestration, capacity management and enabling data-driven forecasting, Petal empowers organizations to build agile, efficient, and humane healthcare systems.
PFU Canada Inc., a RICOH company 2865 Bristol Circle, Suite 200 Oakville ON L6H 6X5
T: 416-254-3156
E-mail: soblin@pfu-ca.ricoh.com
Contact: Steve Oblin Ricoh document scanners.
Pixalere Healthcare Inc.
The Future of Wound Care
T: 866-297-2442
E-mail: info@pixalere.com
Contact: Ken Hendsbee
Web: http://www.pixalere.com
Increased access. Decreased administrative burden.
PocketHealth
229 Yonge Street, Suite 400
Toronto ON M5B 1B9
T: 1-855-381-8522
Contact: Rishi Nayyar
Web: https://www.pockethealth.com/
PocketHealth is the only patient-centric image sharing platform, enabling patients to easily
access and engage with their diagnostic imaging records. By eliminating any network imagesharing dependencies, PocketHealth seamlessly integrates into healthcare systems and creates efficiencies and cost savings for providers while putting patients in control of their healthcare journey. PocketHealth is trusted by over 800 hospitals and imaging centers across North America and is used by more than 1.5 million patients. Learn more at pockethealth.com.
Pure Storage
2555 Augustine Drive Santa Clara CA 95054 USA
T: 800-379-7873
E-mail: info@purestorage.com
bbryer@purestorage.com
Contact: Bill Bryer
Web: https://www.purestorage.com
The top healthcare innovators rely on Pure Storage to redefine the storage experience and simplify how people consume and interact with data. Pure’s fast and future-ready storage transforms data into value across the entire healthcare enterprise. Pure powers the EHRs, enterprise imaging, back-office systems and more with storage that delivers 99.9999% uptime and robust data protection. Storage as you need it is the Pure way, whether it’s on-premises, in the cloud, a hybrid model, or as a service. No more “click and wait” for clinical answers. No more disruptive data storage upgrades. Just quicker insights for better patient care. Purestorage.com/healthcare
efficiency, and improved diagnostic quality, which advances patient care while reducing physician burnout.
SAS Institute (Canada) Inc.
181 Bay Street, Suite 2710 | Mailbox 855 Toronto ON M5J 2T3
T: 416-363-4424
Contact: Lorne Rothman
Web: Public Sector Analytics for Public Health & Government Health Care | SAS SAS is a global leader in data and AI software, including industry-specific solutions. Its Canadian business opened in 1988 and currently employees nearly 300 people across the country with offices in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montréal. SAS helps organizations transform data into trusted decisions faster by providing knowledge in the moments that matter through innovative software and services. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.
time so care teams can respond effectively to critical situations, while also reducing hospitalacquired conditions such as pressure injuries and falls. Together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better.
Swift Medical
1 King Street W, Suite 4800 – 355 Toronto ON M5H 1A1
T: 888-755-2565
E-mail: info@swiftmedical.com
Contact: Neil Sharma
Web: https://swiftmedical.com
Swift Medical is the global leader in digital wound care. Swift’s mission is to make high-quality care accessible to those who need it most through the power of AI and technology. They are the trusted wound care technology partner of more than 4,800 healthcare facilities across the continuum of care with over 20,000 monthly clinical users. More than 25 million wound images and 49 million assessments have been captured through the app, which enables healthcare providers to deliver standardized, accessible, and equitable wound care to every patient – with advanced, high-precision imaging, compliant documentation, and clinical analytics and remote care.
Purkinje
740 rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Suite 1575
Montréal QC H3C 3X6
T: 514-355-0888 F: 514-355-0481
E-mail: mtine@purkinje.com
Contact: Marius Tine
Web: https://purkinje.com
Purkinje est une société spécialisée dans l’édition et l’intégration de logiciels dans le secteur de la santé. Son domaine de spécialisation est principalement celui des dossiers de santé.
Sectra Canada Inc.
2000 Argentia Road Plaza 4, Suite 250 Mississauga ON L5N 1W1
T: 1-437-889-0600
E-mail: info.can@sectra.com
Contact: Nader Soltani
Web: https://medical.sectra.com/ With over 30 years of innovation and more than 2,000 installations around the globe, Sectra is a leading imaging IT provider to health systems worldwide. Sectra offers a complete enterprise solution comprised of imaging modules (radiology, cardiology, pathology, orthopedics, and ophthalmology) and a robust VNA. Sectra has been awarded “Best in KLAS” 2023 for high customer satisfaction for four consecutive years in Canada.
Siemens Healthineers
1577 North Service Road E Oakville ON L6H 0H6
T: 647-613-7777
E-mail: archana.nair@siemens-healthineers.com
Contact: Archana Nair
Quest Diagnostics
4690 Parkway Drive, Suite B Mason OH 45040 USA
T: 201-559-2905 F: 513-229-5518
E-mail: Vicki.M.Joyce@questdiagnostics.com
Contact: Vicki Joyce
Web: http://www.QuanumECS.com
Quest Diagnostics is the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services. We play a crucial role in the healthcare ecosystem, empowering people to take action to improve health outcomes. Quanum Enterprise Content Solutions empowers healthcare organizations to achieve enterprise-wide content management, leveraging information to support and improve patient care, drive operational efficiencies, and lower costs.
RealTime Medical
7111 Syntex Drive, 3rd Floor
Mississauga ON L5N 8C3
T: 888-590-5069
E-mail: software@realtimemedical.com
Contact: Ian Maynard
Web: https://realtimemedical.com/
RealTime Medical (RTM) is a leading provider of software and radiology collaboration services. AICloudSuite utilizes advanced AI to deliver optimal workflow, workload balancing and firstof-a-kind multi-dimensional peer learning, delivering 10X ROI, 15-47% improvements in
Web: https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-ca Siemens Healthineers pioneers’ breakthroughs in healthcare. For everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably. As a leading medical technology company, Siemens Healthineers is committed to improving access to healthcare for underserved communities worldwide and is striving to overcome the most threatening diseases. The company is principally active in the areas of imaging, diagnostics, cancer care and minimally invasive therapies, augmented by digital technology and artificial intelligence.
Softworks PO Box 57006
Brittany Glen Postal Outlet PO Mississauga ON L5M 0M5
T: 226-314-2519
E-mail: hello@softworks.com
Contact: Marcus Doucette
Web: https://www.softworks.com
Softworks Employee Scheduling, Patient Acuity and Time & Attendance solutions enable healthcare providers to easily manage complex scheduling as well as employee hours, annual leave and planned/unplanned absences. We can help you drive efficiencies, cut costs, and ensure labour law compliance, while simultaneously delivering exceptional patient care
Stryker
2 Medicorum Place
Waterdown ON L8B 1W2
T: 1-800-668-8323
E-mail: customer@stryker.ca
Contact: Mike Peachey
Web: https://www.stryker.com/us/en/acutecare/dynamic-clinical-workflow What matters to you, matters to us. Our connected solutions deliver insights in near real-
Synaptive Medical
555 Richmond Street W, Suite 800 Toronto ON M5V 3B1
T: 844-462-7246
E-mail: product.requests@synaptivemedical.com
Contact: Alastair Harris-Cartwright Web: http://www.synaptivemedical.com
Synaptive Medical is a global Med Tech and technology company solving surgical, imaging and data challenges to improve the quality of human lives. We unite MRI, surgical planning and navigation, robotic automation, digital microscopy and informatics solutions to support neuro, spine, ENT, and plastics/reconstructive procedures.
Tali AI
153 Hillsdale Avenue E Toronto ON M4S 1T4
T: 647-999-4414
E-mail: contact@tali.ai
Contact: Colin Joseph Web: https://tali.ai/
Trusted by physicians both in Canada and the U.S, Tali is a voice-enabled AI assistant that listens to the conversation with the patient and generates clinical documentation in seconds. This not only saves the physician the time and cognitive effort to write the note but means that they can spend that time facing and focused on the patient. This transforms the interaction for both the provider and the patient into a much more meaningful and positive experience. Sign up here: https://tali.ai/api/auth/login
Talk 2 Me Technology Inc.
Box 82089
Waterdown ON L0R 2M0
T: 866-554-8877 F: 866-554-8833
Email: info@dictation.ca
Contact: Charles Marriott Web: http://www.dictation.ca
Nuance/Microsoft Dragon Medical One, DAX
Copilot cloud AI speech recognition. Philips SpeechLive cloud speech recognition, dictation & transcription solutions.
Terra Nova Transcription Inc.
100 Elizabeth Avenue, Suite 122
St. John’s NL A1B 1S1
T: 1-866-726-1367
E-mail: m.french@terranovanow.com
Contact: Maria French
Web: https://www.terranovanow.com
When it comes to clinical documentation, we understand the challenges of hospitals and physician practices. With Terra Nova’s team of transcriptionists, editors, and quality assurance specialists onboard, you can focus on delivering high-quality patient care.
UKG Canada
155 Bloor Street W, Suite 400
Toronto ON M5S 1P7
T: 1-800-432-1729
Contact: Chris Krasinkiewicz
Web: https://www.ukg.ca
HCM solutions used to manage more than 485,000 Canadian health care workers. Modern, connected HR technology to actively and intelligently support you and your people. From smooth recruiting and seamless onboarding to clear and transparent benefits management, provide an easy path to help find, attract, and retain the right people. Stay ahead of day-to-day changes, foster a sense of belonging, and consistently maintain team performance and motivation. Automate scheduling, timekeeping, and document management to facilitate coverage and regulatory compliance, maximize your time, and open the door to continuous improvement.
UpCare Partners & Associates Inc.
28 Glebemount Avenue
Toronto ON M4C 3R4
T: 647-704-0942
E-mail: contact@upcarepartners.com
Contact: Olivier Poitier
Web: https://upcarepartners.com/en/
We are a commercial partner of innovative medical technologies in neurosciences, specializing in value creation for Canadian healthcare. We take an ecosystem approach to our product offerings and strive to meet the unique needs of our clients. We support physician workflows through the seamless integration of various solutions and service of one vendor, across Canada.
Valet Wireless
100 Via Renzo Drive
Richmond Hill ON L4S 0B8
T: 647-267-3645
E-mail: gskipwith@valetwireless.ca
Contact: Larry Baldachin
Web: https://valetwireless.ca/
Meet Your Worry-Free Wireless Champion. As the pioneers of managed cellular, Valet has a view across multiple carriers, contracts, and customers ensuring that you always get the best value on the market. Healthcare organizations look to us for seamless lifecycle services, expert asset management, and predictable cost control.
Verto Health
325 Front Street W, Suite 400
Toronto ON M5V 2Y1
T: 1-833-936-0330
E-mail: sales@verto.ca
Contact: Dave Denov
Web: https://www.verto.ca
Verto Health is an award-winning digital health company that has created the world’s first digital twin for population health. Verto’s patented machine learning algorithms consolidate data from nearly any technology or database to create normalized, contextual snapshots (“digital twins”) of each patient’s healthcare journey.
VitalHub Corp.
480 University Avenue, Suite 1001
Toronto ON M5G 1V2
T: 1-855-699-0123
E-mail: Sales@vitalhub.com
Contact: Niels Tofting
Web: https://www.vitalhub.com
VitalHub is a leading software company that empowers Health and Human Services providers.
Clients include hospitals, regional health authorities, mental health, and addictions services providers (Child through Adult), home health agencies, correctional services, and community and social services providers.
WELL Health Technologies Corp.
375 Water Street, Suite 550 Vancouver BC V6B 5C6
E-mail: info@well.company
Contact: Chris Ericksen
Web: https://well.company
WELL’s mission is to tech-enable healthcare providers. We do this by developing the best technologies, services, and support available, which ensures healthcare providers are empowered to positively impact patient outcomes. WELL’s comprehensive healthcare and digital platform includes extensive front and back-office management software applications that help physicians run and secure their practices. WELL’s solutions enable more than 36,000 healthcare providers between the US and Canada and power the largest owned and operated healthcare ecosystem in Canada.
Workday
200 Wellington Street W, Suite 701 Toronto ON M5V 3C7
T: 1-877-967-5329
E-mail: Colette.lepine@workday.com
Contact: Colette Lepine
Web: https://www.workday.com/en-ca/solutions/ industries/healthcare.html
Workday outperforms competing cloud ERP solutions for healthcare, providing the best business foundation to help you drive the future of health. With Workday, you can secure and empower clinical talent, boost supply chain resilience, maximize the value of your technology investments, and financially sustain your mission.
Alarm proliferation raises nurse fatigue
her next challenge, she began searching for what’s next. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the consulting space and the technology space, and informatics is where my passion lies,” she says. So, when Capps saw the Connexall job description, “It was like it was written just for me.”
Capps saw a great opportunity to influence better work environments for nurses on a large scale. “If we can squash a lot of the nuisance noise while helping foster a healthier work environment, we can impact staff burnout, positive patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction.”
Connexall is a 30-year-old company headquartered in Toronto that builds workflow-designed digital platforms that improve quality of care, patient experience, and staff satisfaction.
“We are that connector in the middle,” Capps explains.
Connexall works with any existing manufacturer that generates alarms and notifications to build appropriate clinical workflows to manage and mitigate unnecessary alarms. This ensures clinicians have access to critical information that helps drive patient care. “Our vendor neutral, scalable platform and solutions enable hospitals to bring disparate systems together to build a unified communication strategy.”
In addition to mitigating unnecessary alarms, Connexall offers Clinical Elevate, in which experts in informatics and technology consult with hospital systems on communication challenges brought on by disparate systems and EHRs that don’t easily integrate with one another. These services can directly address the Joint Commission International patient safety goal: Improve effective communication.
Connexall’s Canadian footprint includes 200 major hospital systems like
Capps saw an opportunity to influence better work environments for nurses on a large scale.
University Health Network in Toronto, Niagara Health System in Ontario, and Fraser Health System in British Columbia.
Managing the proliferation of alarms is as much art as it is science. “Every hospital is different,” Capps explains. “But they all have clinical workflow similarities, and common frustrations, and we have proven time and again that we can find answers to each team’s situation.
“We continue to work one hospital at a time to knock ‘use alarms safely’ off the National Patient Safety Goals list.”
PACS in NWT improves image sharing
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Zebra Technologies, Corp.
2100 Meadowvale Blvd Mississauga ON L5N 7J9
T: 905-812-6400
Contact: Basim Al-Ali
Web: http://www.zebra.com
Enable healthcare teams with more time and control by leveraging proven technology from Zebra. We offer the broadest portfolio of healthcare IT solutions, including rugged handheld computers, tablets, barcode scanners, printers, RFID readers, software, and more. We serve most top fortune 500 organizations and have a 50-year history of innovation.
faster, more accurate diagnosis that avoided flying the child and his family to Yellowknife, a huge expense for the Health Authority and a potentially stressful experience for the family.
The improved access to imaging for interactive consultations by specialists outside the Northwest Territories, or for rounds or tumour boards is also important to confirm diagnoses and treatment.
“These enhanced capabilities improve the patient care experience and can help avoid unnecessary long-distance travel,” said Shoniker.
AGFA HealthCare’s Enterprise Imaging assists in allowing patients to return to their rural communities sooner because sharing of medical images, reports and related patient data is readily available for patient follow up or further consultation.”
different PACS systems in my career and Enterprise Imaging is one of my favourites. It was very easy to learn, but I also have to give credit to the Authority’s talented PACS administrator, Stephen Kruger, who was there to answer all my questions.”
The opportunity to provide locum services in Yellowknife acquainted Dr. Diaconescu with the challenges affecting the delivery of healthcare in the Northwest Territories.
“It was a great experience. The team I worked with – the radiology team, the Emergency team, the clinicians and specialists – were amazing. Everybody does their best to work with the limited re-
DHSS hopes to integrate the platform with a proposed, territory-wide implementation of a new EHR.
Zynx Health
2 Tower Place, 21st Floor South San Francisco CA 94080 USA
T: 1-603-724-7527
E-mail: marc.lajeunesse@zynx.com
Contact: Marc Lajeunesse
Web: https://www.zynxhealth.com
Canadian healthcare providers can leverage Zynx Health’s Knowledge Analyzer to optimize order sets, care plans, and clinical policies based on the latest evidence. Best-in-KLAS Zynx solutions enable care standardization, EMRAM Stage 6 achievement, cost control, improved outcomes, and heightened clinical engagement through rigorous, continuously updated clinical decision support.
Dr. Diaconescu began providing locum services to the Northwest Territories in November 2023 when the IMPAX system was still in place, so he is intimately familiar with the improvements made possible by AGFA HealthCare’s EI platform.
“It’s definitely more intuitive to use and more customizable,” he said. “For example, I’m able to highlight multiple studies in my list and once I finish reporting one study, the system immediately jumps to the next one, so it makes my workflow much faster. I’ve used many
sources they have and to help their patients as much as possible. It was eyeopening to see the geographic challenges and resource limitations they contend with, but it was a fantastic experience and that’s what keeps me coming back.”
As for next steps, DHSS hopes to also integrate the Enterprise Imaging platform with a proposed territory-wide electronic health record solution that will allow clinicians in the field to access images directly from their EHR.
How to create a medtech company and sell it for a billion dollars
being followers, and we don’t want to be followers. We want to be leaders,” said Thatte. Lamb was even more emphatic on this score. Citing the examples of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, and Ozempic, which has become a blockbuster drug for treating obesity, Lamb noted: “We were ahead of the curve on these. When we invested, nobody else knew about them.”
Maura Campbell, CEO of the Ontario Biomedical Innovation Organization, a not-for-profit that aims to assist with health technology commercialization, agreed that to keep the confidence of their investors, entrepreneurs must be straight arrows.
“Don’t ever over-promise and underdeliver,” she said. “And don’t do hockey stick projections,” she added, referring to sky-high projections that don’t come true.
She asserted that investors expect honest and accurate forecasts, and they expect companies to live up to their promises. “If you said you’d be in Phase 1 at a certain point and you’re not, we’ll want to know why not.”
Money isn’t the only thing that entrepreneurs can gain from investors. They can also provide coaching and expertise.
“Don’t always ask for money,” said Campbell. “Ask for feedback.”
But she said that entrepreneurs have to be on their toes when working with vencap
Introductions from people an investor already knows and respects are among the most effective ways to make contact.
investors. “Be ready – if they ask you a question, be able to respond in 24 hours. If you don’t, it just doesn’t look good.”
Lamb asserted that entrepreneurs should do some vetting of the investors, to make sure they’ll be able to work with them for many years.
“We tell them that if we take them on, the relationship will last longer than the average Canadian mortgage.”
For this reason, Lamb suggests that entrepreneurs should chat with other companies working with the vencap investor. “You should do your own diligence on the VC. That way you’ll know if they’ll be a good partner.”
“One company wanted to meet with all
Fraser Health aiming to become AI leader
clinicians, staff and volunteers about using the new system.
As part of the effort, special trainers were employed to give users assistance after the Expanse system went online. However, people have only so much memory, and having trainers on the ground to provide support with a new system while navigating patient care was valuable.
For example, a clinician might forget how to transfer a patient from Fraser Health to a health region using a different system. For some time, the trainers were on hand to help.
Project AMPLIFI
been the creation of two health Information Exchanges (HIEs) for hospitalto-hospital bidirectional information exchange in Ontario, something that was not possible before the emergence of AMPLIFI.
While Epic hospitals had been able to communicate with each other using the Epic’s Care Everywhere functionality, Oracle Health and MEDITECH hospitals had no means to digitally share patient information between hospitals.
However, to enable their participation in the project, AMPLIFI funded and supported the implementation of the Ontario eHub and Traverse Exchange Canada network to enable Oracle Health and MEDITECH hospitals respectively to exchange patient information electronically.
With the Traverse Exchange Canada network, MEDITECH hospitals will be able to communicate digitally across Canada.
“Through the AMPLIFI implementa-
of the CEOs of companies that we invested in,” he said. “They could tell him what the VC contributed. Whether it was just capital, or management advice and support, too.
“The best person to ask these questions is the person who got money [from an investor].
How does one get through to an investor? Cold calls may sometimes work, but Lamb asserted that introductions from people the investor already knows and respects are more effective.
“Most of our deals are through a trusted introduction,” said Lamb. He said that his company is also on advisory boards at many universities and participates in conferences where they can meet up-and-coming medtech companies. “We try to touch on the scientific community as much as we can.”
He advised entrepreneurs to connect
Examining
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
But after a while, “It becomes expensive to keep the trainers employed,” said Dr. Hassanali. So, Fraser Health decided to build its own AI-driven bot that could answer the questions of clinicians and staff, making it easy for them to solve their problems.
The bot makes use of AWS artificial intelligence and AI tools, including natural language processing. There were online manuals available that could be searched, but as Dr. Hassanali observed, clinicians don’t want to stop what they’re doing to log into a different system and answer a question. With the bot, they could simply ask their questions – ChatGPT style – and quickly receive an answer.
tion, we’ve created the foundation for interoperability in Ontario,” said Culgin.
Overall, in a little more than a year since it went live, about 6.7 million documents have been contributed to the Ontario eHub, and more than 650 documents exchanged via the MEDITECH Traverse Exchange Canada network within the first three months of being live.
While AMPLIFI has already made impressive gains, Robert Steele, project manager, identified some gaps where the system could be improved. For example, medication reconciliation workflows are not yet available in LTC because most LTC homes currently utilize third party pharmacy-initiated medication reconciliation workflows wherein the pharmacist working in their own record system outside PointClickCare begins the ordering process for medications.
Either further integration is needed between these platforms or workflow changes are required to allow for reconciliation of medications sent through the clinical data exchange.
with the technology transfer office of their university or hospital.
It’s also useful to ally with someone who has already received funding and believes that your company could do it, too. That person could provide a helpful introduction.
Cheryl Reicin, moderator of the panel discussion, and international chair of Mintz’s Life Sciences Practice, noted that founders of startups may launch a company, but they’re not always the best choice to lead it through different stages of growth.
“The inventor is not always the right person to run the company,” she said. “They have a PhD, not an MBA.”
Campbell concurred. “Inventors need to know when to step back. They have to know what their strengths and weaknesses are. And they have to be able to step away from their baby, which isn’t easy.”
healthcare’s triple squeeze
every second counts, and mistakes must be avoided. The latest Zebra Hospital Vision Study found nine in 10 hospital leaders agree it’s vital to track inventory in real time across categories including pharmaceuticals, consumable/medical supplies, sterile instruments, and implants. And nearly seven in 10 hospital leaders indicate they plan to deploy RFID (68 percent) and RTLS (69 percent) solutions within the next five years. The impact of being unable to locate materials can have a serious impact on patient care. Zebra’s study found 74 percent of hospital leaders surveyed acknowledge procedures or surgeries canceled due to out-of-stock, lowstock, or lost supplies is a significant problem for their organizations.
• Enable improved communication. Getting the right people, answers, medications, equipment … the list goes on … is critical in healthcare. Nurses, staff, and pa-
There’s also a lack of code set standardization for key data elements that are exchanged discretely among the vendors.
“Lack of code set standardization for discrete data elements, including medications, problems, allergies, and immunizations across platforms poses challenges to providing valuable patient information to clinicians in an easily rec-
The system has the potential to be expanded to primary care, home care and other parts of healthcare.
ognizable format that allows them to reconcile this data within their local patient chart in a streamlined workflow,” said Steele.
Furthermore, there’s inconsistent use of CPOE (Computerized Provider Order Entry) and other digital tools in different hospitals, and he said paper workflows remain prevalent in some Emergency Departments, limiting the
tients can benefit from improved communication by using healthcare mobile computing. Nurses shouldn’t be isolated or unable to access the information or advice they need on the spot. With Wi-Fi 6 and 5G connectivity, Bluetooth, walkie-talkie calls, instant messaging, high-quality
Procedures or surgeries that are cancelled due to out-of-stock or low supplies is a significant problem.
touch screens, cameras and mics, the ability to quickly access and share patient records and treatment notes should be a standard expectation. As clinician collaboration and communication improve, patients will also receive better care.
Rikki Jennings is North America Industry Principal Lead for Zebra Technologies.
full use of the AMPLIFI initiative.
“As a result, digital data is not always readily available to populate the readonly document or to be exchanged discretely, and clinicians can receive fragmented data,” said Steele.
These issues are all being addressed, and improvements will be made in the future.
Dr. Perri said a lot of work went into onboarding hospitals and LTC centres, with many meetings required to explain the benefits and to bring organizations to a state of readiness to participate.
He noted that the hospitals and LTC centres that have experienced the most benefits have also done the most training and change management -– an important “lesson learned”.
As another project for the future, Steele said the system has the potential to be expanded to primary care, home care, and other parts of the provincial health system to expand the network of available information.
Dr. Perri agreed: “We’d love for Ontario MD to call us up one day.”
