The integration of information technology (IT) into health care allows patient records and administrative data to be accessed and shared in real-time. State-of-the-art IT solutions can also increase operational efficiency, improve patient care, and generate research opportunities that can lead to life-saving therapies.
The potential benefits are boundless, but creating a seamless IT network for a large cross-institution environment such as the Rossy Cancer Network (RCN) is an ambitious and challenging project. The RCN, a collaboration of the McGill Faculty of Medicine, St. Mary’s Hospital Center (SMHC), the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), was established in spring 2012 as a joint effort to improve cancer care.
RCN Architecture Plan (RAP) is launched
It is not a simple task to implement network platforms between three partners that each have their own history, culture and technological environment. This is one of the reasons why the RCN Architecture Plan (RAP) was launched. This exercise brings together clinicians and information technology experts to define, from a Network perspective, the clinical requirements and then use that to clearly articulate what applications, data, infrastructure and overall support models are required to meet that collectively defined need.
The RAP team has been reviewing documents and conducting interviews with key clinical and other stakeholders from all three RCN hospitals to gather as much data as possible on the current state, and desired future state, and contrasting that with best practices and standards from benchmark cancer institutions around the world.
Meanwhile, significant progress toward a seamless network has already been made.
The MUHC’s Chief of Oncology, Dr. Armen Aprikian, a key clinical stakeholder in this project says, “We established the ability for oncologists at the three sites to access their patients' charts stored at another site. This is a big deal since in the past, doctors needed patients to bring their medical information with them or have it faxed over whereas now a doctor can access an individual patient's records in real-time via the Internet. This required hospitals to cross-appoint oncologists to all sites, which is another deliverable of integration of the RCN.” (see article Remote access)
Dr. Jeffrey Barkun brings to the table expertise that crosses the IT-clinician divide. The oncological, hepatobiliary, pancreatic and transplant surgeon is also the Chief Clinical Officer for Informatics at the MUHC. His experience with OACIS (electronic health record software), evaluating clinical workflows and IT project management is invaluable. The RAP team also made sure there was significant clinical input from across the Network to ensure the necessary depth of expertise and broadest perspective. In fact the Steering Group responsible for advising the effort was over two-thirds clinical with participation by Drs. Walter Gotlieb and Stephen Rosenthal of the JGH, Drs. Jeffrey Barkun and Scott Owen of the MUHC, and Dr. Stuart of SMHC.
The RCN partners embraced Dr. Barkun’s proposed two-step approach. “First, leveraging the fact that all three partners have OACIS, which will remain the dominant IT system at each hospital no matter what system is ultimately used for oncology at each site. This is why we created a CITRIX-based portal to see the OACIS system in each of the hospitals.”
The second step is to find the best-dedicated set of highly integrated electronic tools to manage the specific data of oncological patients and staff as well as a platform to exchange these data across the RCN hospitals.
“It all has to be safe and confidential according to patient wishes. The patients will also eventually have access to some of their own data to empower them,” says Dr. Barkun.
The RAP Team will present a holisitic IT solution that lays out an approach for addressing the complete clinical and technological requirement over for approval in early December. Dr. Barkun and his RCN colleagues will assess the recommendations, make choices, and procurement strategies will be established.
Decisions will be based on their shared vision and common goal: rolling out a robust IT Network without borders that leverages their cumulative knowledge and expertise to help save lives.