As virtually all of Canada’s peer nations increase investment in their research and innovation ecosystems to build a brighter future and ensure they are leaders in these areas in the years to come, our federal government refuses to recognize the value of the research sector as a driver of improved health outcomes and the economy.
Lengthy wait times and overcrowding are challenges for hospital emergency departments (EDs) around the world, and Canada is no exception.
Key findings include: the importance of stakeholder communication and early engagement, the value of simplicity and consistency, and an understanding of organizational barriers.
At Eastern Health, we are excited to continue generating ideas and to create products with our partners that can be sold into the broader market where there is revenue potential and job opportunities in research and development. For example, we have had tremendous success with MyCCath, a secured, web-based IT solution for clinicians which has improved workflow and scheduling at the cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) at the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s, NL. Working in partnership with MOBIA Technology Innovations, MyCCath has resulted in reduced overtime expenses within the cath lab as well as cost savings and greater bed capacity at hospitals across the province. As a result, within six months inpatient wait times for cath lab procedures were reduced by 56 per cent across the province. In addition, our partnership with Medtronic Integrated Health Solutions, will help us commercialize this technology so that other jurisdictions can use it to improve cardiac care for their patients.
The Government of Canada is focused on helping businesses and healthcare organizations work together to find innovative solutions to today’s challenges. That is why the federal government is investing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia’s MOBIA Technology Innovations Inc. as it collaborates with Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador-based SurgeCon Innovations Inc. to develop technology to help hospital emergency departments reduce wait times.
Leading full-suite Canadian systems integrator, MOBIA, announced today that its SurgeCon software has been selected by Horizon Health Network (Horizon) to help address emergency department (ED) flow challenges, improve patient wait times, and manage patient surges. The software will be rolled out across seven sites in New Brunswick. The project has been made possible through Health Canada and Innovation Solutions Canada who identified SurgeCon as a powerful tool to improve EDs through their COVID-19 Innovation fund.
A little over four years ago, Dr. Chris Patey, an emergency room physician and Paul Norman, an ER nurse at Eastern Health allowed their creative problem solving to spur on an “outside the box” idea. Their hospital was facing the highest emergency room wait times in the province of Newfoundland & Labrador and as a result their patient outcomes and satisfaction scores were low.
Wait times and overcrowding are challenging emergency departments (EDs) around the world. Several countries with advanced healthcare systems cannot keep pace with patient demand, and Canada ranks among the longest wait times compared to peer-industrialized countries. In fact, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) identified an 11% increase in ED wait times from 2015-2016 to 2016-2017. This translates to long wait times that deter patients from pursuing necessary care and increases their likelihood of leaving without being seen by an ED physician.
Eastern Health is working with Memorial University of Newfoundland, MOBIA Technology Innovations, and SurgeCon Innovations Inc. to refine an innovative software solution that utilizes a unique algorithm to calculate emergency department activity and patient load to predict and mitigate emergency department overcapacity.
MOBIA announced receiving federal funding through Innovation Solutions Canada for SurgeCon, an Emergency Department (ED) flow solution app. The funding was awarded under the non-medical category of innovations designed to address public health challenges presented by COVID-19 and future public health emergencies.
In the face of the current global pandemic, World Health Organization, regional and Canadian guidance reports have been published to assist health facilities to triage and manage the treatment of patients with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.
A joint federal-provincial investment of $4.8 million will support a project at Memorial University that’s testing an app and platform designed to reduce emergency department wait times in Newfoundland and Labrador. If the project proves successful at saving money, provincial partners have agreed to explore ways to re-invest some of the savings in further health research.
Canadian emergency departments have some of the longest wait times compared to many other developed countries. Last year, Canada spent more than $253 billion on health care. Despite that amount, there are still challenges when it comes to wait times and patient outcomes.
Canadian emergency departments (ED) are struggling to provide timely emergency care. Very few studies have assessed attempts to improve ED patient flow in the rural context. We assessed the impact of SurgeCon, an ED patient-management protocol, on total patient visits, patients who left without being seen (LWBS), length of stay for departed patients (LOSDep), and physician initial assessment time (PIA) in a rural community hospital ED.
Eastern Health is pleased to provide an update to this article. On July 12, 2019, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Patient-Oriented Research grants (SPOR) announced it has awarded federal-provincial funding towards SurgeCon. This research will assist Dr. Christopher Patey and RN Paul Norman’s team with further developing the SurgeCon solution by testing and refining it in Eastern Health’s emergency departments throughout the region.
A doctor and nurse who work at the hospital emergency department in Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador have developed a smartphone app that is already improving wait times. Dr. Christopher Patey and registered nurse Paul Norman were grappling with ways to deal with a nearly 30 per cent increase in patients over the last four years, which was stretching staff and resources to the limit.
A doctor and nurse have developed an app to help anticipate demand for care in emergency departments. Over the past couple years, the Faculty of Medicine’s Dr. Chris Patey and Paul Norman, a registered nurse, have been working on a method to improve patient care in the emergency department at the Carbonear Hospital.