Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Electronic medical records (EMRs) allow healthcare providers access to their patients' up-to-date health records, which can help them best support their patients' needs. EMRs can also be used for research and to make care more cost-effective. Most Canadian health care organizations have outdated EMRs that do not realize their full potential. It has been recommended that hospitals form collaborations to implement multi-centered electronic health records (EHR). Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) has the most advanced EMR in Canada and has partnered with Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care (Waypoint) to form a multi-centered EHR. We are planning to host a one-day event to share our experiences, successes, and challenges from the Ontario Shores-Waypoint partnership in terms of best practices for EHR implementation and collaboration. The objectives of this event are to share leading practices of EHR implementation and meaningful use, discuss how the EHR can support evidence-based practices, identify strategies for successful EHR partnerships, and explore opportunities for impactful research projects and partnerships. Participants will be invited from relevant organizations, with 10 seats reserved for patients and family caregivers and 30 for open registration. This one-day event will include presentations, a panel discussion, and 3 targeted streams for health care leaders and policy makers, hospital leadership and clinical informatics, and researchers and quality improvement. It will lead to a plain-language summary of the proceedings and a report detailing key action items, an online cloud collaboration network, and a network of researchers and a series of research priorities. The overall goal is to support EHR advancement across Ontario and, ultimately, Canada as we work toward a national EHR to support excellence and innovation in patient-centered care.