BACKGROUNDER August 9, 2011

ClinicalConnect, a joint Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) and Waterloo Wellington (WW) LHIN eHealth initiative, is a secure online portal that provides health care providers, such as doctors, nurses and pharmacists, with real-time access to their patients' electronic medical information (electronic health records) from local hospitals and Community Care Access Centres.

More than 2,500 health care providers can use the system and have immediate access to records and reports in 28 hospitals across the two LHINs, representing over two million patient records.

ClinicalConnect allows hospital staff, primary care providers and specialists to look up information about their patients online. They can review their patient’s treatment plan, medications, test results, and more resulting in better patient care and safety.

ClinicalConnect has been funded by leveraging existing assets of the health care providers involved in the project. The hospitals and Community Care Access Centres have all contributed time, energy and resources to make ClinicalConnect a reality. eHealth Ontario, Canada Health Infoway and the HNHB and WW LHINs also provided some funding and support.

Expansion of ClinicalConnect

ClinicalConnect is a local investment that will be leveraged as part of eHealth Ontario’s broader provincial strategy to enable the integration of regional health information systems across Ontario in a managed, secure, sustainable and cost-effective way to benefit patients and providers. Expansion will extend access to about 600 more clinicians.

The approach includes three regional hubs: • GTA Hub - LHINs: Central, Central East, Central West, Mississauga Halton, Toronto Central, North Simcoe Muskoka • South West Ontario Hub - LHINs: Erie St. Clair, Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant, South West, Waterloo Wellington • North East Ontario Hub – LHINs: Champlain, North East, North West, South East

The regional hubs will create the foundation to enable patient information to be shared securely across the continuum of care throughout the province. The goal is to accelerate progress in regions and across the province by leveraging existing assets and ensuring regional systems work together. eHealth Ontario will also provide the tools needed to ensure privacy along with the network and data centre capacity to run the entire system.

Both LHINs are working together to continue increasing the information available on ClinicalConnect. For a complete breakdown of the integration status for each of the hospitals and Community Care Access Centres (CCACs) listed below, please visit http://info.clinicalconnect.ca/body.cfm?id=137.

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Health care providers connected through ClinicalConnect:

Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN • West Haldimand General Hospital • West Lincoln Memorial Hospital • Brant Community Healthcare System • Hospital physicians and other health care o The Brantford General providers o The Willett • HNHB Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) • Hamilton Health Sciences • North Hamilton Community Health Centre o Chedoke Hospital • Community physicians and other health care o Hamilton General Hospital providers o Juravinski Hospital o Juravinski Cancer Centre Waterloo Wellington LHIN o McMaster (Children’s Hospital and University Medical Centre) • Cambridge Memorial Hospital o St. Peter’s Hospital • Grand River Hospital (In progress) • Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital • Groves Memorial Community Hospital • Haldimand War Memorial Hospital • Guelph General Hospital • Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation • Louise Marshall Hospital Centre • Palmerston and District Hospital • Niagara Health System • St. Mary’s General Hospital Douglas Memorial Hospital o • WW Community Care Access Centre Greater Niagara General Site o • Centre for Family Medicine Niagara-on-the-Lake Hospital o • Ontario Street Site East Wellington Family Health Team (FHT) o • Port Colborne General Site Guelph FHT o • Minto-Mapleton FHT o St. Catharines General Site • Mount Forest FHT o Welland Hospital Site • Norfolk General Hospital • New Vision FHT • St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton • Two Rivers FHT • Upper Grand FHT o St. Joseph’s Hospital

For further information, please contact: Trish Nelson, HNHB LHIN, (905) 945-4930, ext. 4255, [email protected] Connie MacDonald, WW LHIN, (519) 650-4472, ext. 235, [email protected] Nina Keitner, eHealth Ontario, (416) 946-4778, [email protected] Dan Strasbourg, Canada Health Infoway, (416) 595-3424, [email protected]

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