Improved care for elderly patients goal of new joint project in Milton, Oakville
Published May 3, 2024 at 12:11 pm
An innovative project that helps create smoother patient transitions between hospitals in Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills and long-term care homes is now in effect.
Halton Healthcare has joined Project AMPLIFI which has shown to improve health outcomes for patients through their integrated care coordination platform that reduces the potential for medication errors, difficulties in obtaining an accurate diagnosis, delays in treatment and care, and readmissions to hospital for this high-risk population.
“Project AMPLIFI helps provide health care providers with a fuller picture of the patient’s journey when they enter our hospitals for care,” said Brendan Kwolek, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Halton Healthcare.
“Our teams have worked together to ensure the data is accurate and patient information is handled in a safe, private, and secure fashion. This has been a great partnership and we are looking forward to seeing more institutions come on board.”
AMPLIFI stands for the information obtained in a patient’s chart during a transfer: Allergies, Medications, Problem List and Immunizations For Integration. Project AMPLIFI is part of a broader initiative called Traverse Exchange Canada, a secure, cloud-based network that enables the flow of health information among participating organizations.
Last month, Halton Healthcare joined 65 long-term care homes and MEDITECH Expanse hospitals that are participating in this Ministry of Health and Ministry of Long-Term Care-funded project.
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“The exciting part is connecting the patient information from different care settings. Halton Healthcare looks after patients from neighbouring hospitals and LTCH that are geographically very close to us. Project AMPLIFI helps with sharing of the patient’s medical history,” said Dr. Allan Lee, Chief Medical Information Officer, Halton Healthcare.
“For example, patients from long-term care homes may not be able to speak for themselves and this technology would facilitate the process. Having this information electronically delivered to the medical record makes it easy for all clinicians to access, and it will not get lost in paper shuffle like a fax might.”
At points of transfer to or from a facility, a patient’s visit information will transmit into the electronic health record of the receiving long-term care facility or hospital. Shared information includes the patient’s encounter details, provider notes, laboratory, and imaging results, administered medications, discharge summaries and more.
This data provides caregivers a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s journey while minimizing the time required to gather information from external sources. It is not reliant on the patient’s recollection and therefore can help reduce errors or provide important information in an emergency.
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