We know that the health-care system could be made more efficient by staying up to date with digital health tools such as referrals between providers and online booking. Improving digital health in the FLA region will benefit individuals, families and providers and reduce health-system costs.
The Digital Support Structure Working Group is working together to be more efficient and ensure access to the right services at the right time.
Current Challenges
- Individuals have separate health records with multiple providers.
- Health records are not easily shared which can lead to confusion, missing information, and putting care at risk.
- Consultations and referrals to specialists can be complicated.
- Fragmented information makes navigating health and social services increasingly difficult.
- Providers are burnt out and looking for time-saving solutions to improve care delivery.
What we are working towards
We are assessing the digital landscape across multiple health sectors of the FLA region.
With a better understanding of the needs and the priorities, we will work towards:
- Increasing use of digital health tools to improve access to and delivery of health care
- Improving the quality of care through enhanced collaboration
- Simplifying systems and processes
Digital Support Projects
One Patient - One Record!
This project aims to create a single health record for each person across all care settings to improve continuity of care.
The FLA OHT is collaborating with primary care and hospital partners to test innovative data-sharing methods related to this work.
We are working to build a new health information system, which allows all members of a person's health care team to access their health information in real time. A new health record will be used across all hospitals in the FLA OHT.
Reducing Administrative Burden
Physician burnout poses a significant challenge in health care, but digital tools offer solutions to enhance provider experience and access to care.
To minimize administrative burnout, he FLA OHT is helping primary care partners to offer online appointment booking and streamlining hospital records.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes are being introduced throughout the OHT, freeing up providers from extensive charting and enabling greater focus during appointments.
eConsult and eReferral
The goal is to simplify how primary care providers send consults and referrals for their patients.
Electronic consults (eConsults) and electronic referrals (eReferrals) are digital tools that will support:
- Limit the use of fax-based referrals
- Reduce the wait times for specialists, and
- Improve the specialist follow up process.
We continue to work with our partners to improve access to care through innovative digital solutions.
How Digital Supports Advance Health Care
Digital Support Structure - Recent Achievements
The Digital Support Structure is a group working to increase the use of digital tools in the Frontenac, Lennox and Addington region’s health-care sector, with a goal to simplify systems and processes for both providers and people, and to improve quality of care.
Digital Strategy
The Frontenac Lennox and Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT) is committed to improving the digital health capabilities across the FLA region, which will directly improve patient-centered care, better connect frontline health-care providers, and support a system self-management.
Creating a better integrated health-care system
Innovative digital health initiatives
Digital health care is a rapidly growing field and ties into almost every aspect of the health-care system. Implementing cohesive and thoroughly tested digital health care solutions is necessary for creating a system that works well for all.
Who's involved?
Community members, primary care providers, information technology and privacy experts, OntarioMD, Ontario Health, academics and specialists from across the region are working together.
Community members may include people with lived experience of mental health and addictions, family, caregivers, Indigenous and Francophone representatives, 2SLGBTQ+ and others.