New e-record system used across Northwestern Ontario will set the standard for other LHINs

April 20, 2009 Thunder Bay – Terrence Sullivan, President and CEO of Cancer Care Ontario , congratulated Regional Cancer Care - Northwest today on being the first cancer program in Ontario to implement an important e-health strategy across the entire Northwest LHIN .

A total of 14 regional sites make up Northwestern Ontario's regional cancer program network, spanning over 1,000 km from Kenora in the west, north to Red Lake , and east to Hornepayne. Cancer patients often receive chemotherapy treatment both in Thunder Bay and in their home community. Beginning this month, OPIS 2005, a new electronic system for ordering and electronically documenting chemotherapy administration, was rolled out across the regional network. As a Computerized Physician Order Entry system, or CPOE, it allows physicians, nurses and pharmacists in Thunder Bay and at regional hub sites to share standardized treatment information safely and efficiently in real-time.

Mr. Sullivan explains that all regional cancer programs in Ontario will move towards using a CPOE as part of the Ontario Cancer Plan strategy to improve the performance of the provincial cancer system. With successful implementation across the LHIN, Northwestern Ontario will serve as a model network for other sites.

“Cancer patients having chemotherapy in the Northwest are safer today because of CPOE,” says Mr. Sullivan. “The implementation of CPOE is a commitment we made in the Ontario Cancer Plan and to date 28 sites are now using this tool. I would like to congratulate the leadership team here in the Northwest for successfully implementing this latest innovation.”

Michael Power, Vice President of Regional Cancer and Diagnostic Services at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, says the new system will enhance patient safety and improve the treatment ordering system for care providers across the Northwest.

“Previously, the 13 hub sites in the region were not connected electronically in terms of accessing or entering patient information for chemotherapy treatment; drug orders were phoned or faxed in to Thunder Bay . The new CPOE system allows nurses and physicians in the region to order treatments and access information in real-time. Our team is to be congratulated for their efforts and willingness to embrace e-health strategies to improve cancer care for our patients,” he says.

“Our team has done an exceptional job adopting the CPOE project. One of the most important aspects of OPIS 2005 is the ability to access it via the internet for order entry. This will facilitate efficiencies in treating patients in the region; currently approximately 30 per cent of our patients receive treatment close to home. The system has proven to be robust and provides a safe way to order chemotherapy, avoiding drug dose, administration and other mistakes that could potentially occur,” says Dr. Dimitrios Vergidis, Chief of Oncology, TBRHSC.

Dryden Regional Health Centre is one of the 13 hub sites using the new CPOE system.

“It was due to Regional Cancer Care's commitment to bring care close to home that we are the first region in Ontario to roll out the CPOE system to the satellite sites. Now orders transferred over the internet arrive in the chemotherapy unit in the patient's home community as quickly as if they were in the chemotherapy unit in Thunder Bay . We are already seeing the benefits of this system in Dryden,” says Dr. Karen Mazurski, Oncology Physician, Dryden Regional Health Centre.

More information about Cancer Care Ontario 's Ontario Cancer Plan goals and progress can be found at www.cancercare.on.ca .

For more information, contact:

Kathryn Lyzun

Communications and Health Promotion Planner

Regional Cancer Care

(807) 684-7239

lyzunk@tbh.net

Elizabeth McCarthy

Public Affairs

Cancer Care Ontario

(416) 971-9800 x3339

Elizabeth.Mccarthy@cancercare.on.ca

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