1. MARCH 2005
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Primary Care Transformation Strategy
At the February 21st Hospital eHealth Council meeting, Council received an
update on the Primary Care Transformation Strategy in Ontario from Dr. Jim
PRIMARY CARE UPDATE
MacLean, Lead, Primary Health Care Reform, Ministry of Health and
Family Health Teams &
Long Term Care (MOHLTC), and Harley Rodin, VP, Business
Ontario MD
Development, OntarioMD.
2005 READINESS Understanding Primary Care Reform and Family Health Teams
SURVEYS - eHR Readiness Dr. MacLean offered insight into the description and plans for the
& Technical Network development of Family Health Teams (FHT) in Ontario. FHTs propose a
Readiness comprehensive range of primary care services provided by an interdisciplinary
team made up of a mix of family physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses,
Client Registry/EMPI pharmacists, social workers, dieticians and others. FHTs will improve access
Demonstration to primary care by providing patients with after-hours care through extended
office hours as well as offering telephone health advisory service (THAS).
UPDATE ON LOCKBOX
FHTs will receive funding through an approved budget with the MOHLTC that
Announcing Technical will cover all approved services, including administrative costs, and may be
issues Learning (TILE) offset by community or other contributions. Funding levels for other healthcare
professionals will be consistent across the province but the specific
NEW ADVISORY GROUP compensation models will be determined by the FHTs themselves. Support for
Hospital Lab Information information technology will be provided in combination through OntarioMD
Systems and the MOHLTC.
CASE STUDIES LAUNCH Recognizing the diversity of communities and health-related needs across
Ontario, the MOHLTC has developed a number of guiding principles to ensure
optimal development and implementation of FHTs.
CALL TO ACTION • Flexibility and Choice – Respecting local requirements for size, scope and
focus.
Share your eHealth • Community and Provider Partnerships – Encouraging collaboration
success story with us! across sectors and institutions to meet the unique needs of local
See Page 4 for more details. populations.
• Team Based Care - Interdisciplinary approach.
• Build on Existing Models and Successes – Aimed to build upon existing
strengths and leverage prior learning.
Further reinforcing the Ministry’s commitment to support the unique needs of
FHTs, three governance models are proposed:
• Community groups - Must be registered as non-profit organizations with a
board of directors that includes community representation.
• Provider groups - May be established as partnerships or professional
associations.
• Mix of provider groups and community groups - Will combine a non-
profit/community-based organization with a form of provider group.
A series of toolkits and guides are being finalized to assist primary care
groups in their establishment of an FHT.

2. Primary Care Transformation (cont’d)
FHT InfoKits, intended to help guide potential FHT proponents, have been provided to over 800
communities/providers. Within this package, an Information Request Form (IRF) was included to allow interested
groups to apply for consideration for Wave 1 funding for FHT establishment. By Feb 15th the MoHLTC received 213
completed applications from across Ontario, representing all geographic areas and practice sizes. An inter-divisional
Ministry team is in the process of evaluating these applications and will announce their recommendations to the
Minister in March 2005.
Ontario MD
Harley Rodin highlighted the OntarioMD strategy and development plan. Owned by the Ontario Medical
Association (OMA), with sponsorship from the MOHLTC and utilizing SSHA infrastructure, OntarioMD will operate
as the physicians’ advisor on e-Health. OntarioMD helps physicians use information technology to increase
efficiency, reduce costs, and enrich patient care. OntarioMD will deliver this by connecting physicians to other
healthcare providers and the private sector, including certified Clinical Management System vendors, professional
services, the MOHLTC and its associated programs. Interconnectivity, best practices and practical tools will be
available for physicians via the OntarioMD.ca portal. Aligning with and connecting to existing information networks
and pre-built tools will drive the most value through the OntarioMD system.
OntarioMD will offer numerous benefits for physicians, including consolidation of prescription renewal requests,
sending and receiving patient referral and consult information, Clinical Management System remote access, access
to MOHLTC-sponsored and private sector e-services, as well as clinical productivity content and tools. Health service
providers will benefit from enhanced access to physicians, and efficiencies gained in practice. Ultimately, patients
will benefit from an overall improvement in the speed and quality of patient care and services.
OntarioMD is on its way to achieving its development goals. The 2005 fiscal year was earmarked for provincially
launching the OntarioMD.ca portal, establishing funding and further delivering the transition support program. In
2005, OntarioMD will focus on earning users, building support structures, delivering clinical productivity tools, and
developing revenue opportunities. In 2006 and beyond OntarioMD intends to lead the market by establishing a
sustainable competitive advantage, wider electronic medical record deployment, and the delivery of advanced clinical
tools. For more information, contact Harley Rodin at 416-623-1248 (harley.rodin@ontariomd.com).
2005 Readiness Surveys
The Ontario Hospital eHealth Council is proud to update readers on the status of the two Readiness Surveys it is
sponsoring among Ontario Hospitals in the spring of 2005.
The 2005 EHR Readiness Survey was launched with great excitement on March 7th. Survey Coordinators in
hospitals across Ontario received their invitations to complete their electronic surveys, with a deadline to complete
by April 4th, 2005. Pilot testing indicated that this web-based survey is intuitive and easy to complete, requiring less
than one hour for an IT-savvy Hospital Information Officer. To support Survey Coordinators in completing the
assessment, the eHealth Team held a web cast presentation of “How to complete the 2005 EHR Readiness
Survey in 5 Easy Steps” on March 10th, 2005.
Following one week behind the EHR Readiness Survey, the 2005 Technical Network Readiness Survey was
launched on March 14th, with a deadline for completion of April 11th, 2005. This short web-based survey assesses
the way networks are currently engaged with Smart Systems for Health Network (SSHA) and / or other external
networks.
Survey results should be available in Summer 2005. Results of these two surveys will be used for provincial eHealth
strategy planning and advocacy purposes, as well as informing participants about their own eHealth status among
their peers. For more information, or to access an archived copy of the web cast presentation, contact Martha
Murray at 416-205-1312, or by email at mmurray@oha.com.
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3. Hospital eHealth Council Establishes A New Working Group
In its continuing efforts to advocate for Ontario health system change, the Hospital eHealth Council has established a
Hospital Lab Information Systems Advisory Group (HLIS AG). HLIS AG brings together representatives of
hospital laboratories from different regions of Ontario with clinical and lab interface expertise.
Chaired by Dr. Sherry Perkins of the Ottawa Hospital, the HLIS AG is strategic in nature, tasked to examine a
variety of key issues that pertain to the effective electronic sharing of laboratory information. The team also
collaborates with the OLIS project team to provide input into OLIS’ adoption and change management strategy.
A kick-off meeting was held on February 15th, with a second meeting on March 23rd, 2005. The Group is interested in
defining models for the exchange of laboratory data, advocating for Quality Assurance in lab data and advising on
Nomenclature and Messaging Standards.
The principle aim of the group in the near term is to determine the ongoing work plan and to define the deliverable
products. Meetings take place every four to six weeks.
For more information, please contact Carol McFarlane at 416-205-1438, or by email at cmcfarlane@oha.com
Client Registry/EMPI Demonstration
On March 2nd, 2005, the Regional Registries Working Group (RRWG) was fortunate to receive an invitation to a
Canada Health Infoway (CHI) sponsored presentation of Capital Health’s Client Registry and NetCare EHR.
With most of the working group in attendance, Corinne Blair, Team Leader, Data Management & Integration at
Capital Health Authority (CHA) in Edmonton, provided education on CHA’s EHR Strategic Plan and the critical
importance of an effective EMPI to enable the plan. Topics covered included the implementation approach and
schedule, build requirements, technical requirements, and infrastructure architecture. Once the technical grounding
was conveyed and all questions answered, Corinne demonstrated the EMPI live, punctuated with first-hand
anecdotes outlining CHA’s challenges, solutions, and lessons learned. The RRWG formally thanks CHI for creating
an exceptional knowledge transfer opportunity and forging links between inter-jurisdictional registry builders.
For more information on the session, or a copy of Corinne Blair’s presentation, please contact Stella Skerlec at CHI,
at (416) 979-4606 ext. 3021 or by email sskerlec@infoway-inforoute.ca
Lockbox Update
In late January, the Information Privacy Commissioner’s Office of Ontario (IPC) issued an RFP for the development
of a transition strategy for hospitals and their vendors to comply with the lockbox provisions of Ontario’s Personal
Health Information Privacy Act (PHIPA). The project was awarded to Accenture, who is now looking for hospital
experts to provide input and advice regarding the business and technical requirements.
Accenture held an initial information meeting on Monday, March 21. With the help of stakeholder experts, the
project plans to:
Identify major issues to consider in developing technological solutions to the lockbox.
Develop technology options with select vendors.
Gain feedback from hospital representatives and seek input on developing the final product, which includes:
A Migration Strategy document (which can form part of a toolkit for hospitals transitioning to comply with the
lockbox provisions of PHIPA [in effect November 1, 2005]); and
A set of requirements for vendor software to comply with lockbox / PHIPA provisions.
For more information, please contact Lan Djang at 416-205-1497, or by email at ldjang@oha.com
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4. Announcing Technical Issues LEarning (TILE)
A best practice approach for sharing knowledge about information technology issues
The Ontario Hospital eHealth Council, through the activities of its Network Operations Working Group (NOWG), is
pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the Technical Issues Learning (TILE) online application. Beginning in
April, those in the hospital and other healthcare sectors will be able to submit their own learning experiences to share
with others. TILE Reports allow online entry of information and technical experiences by any users of externally
networked hospital systems (e.g. SSHA, health care providers, etc.) and enables them to share reports with
colleagues in a user-friendly electronic format.
We’re interested in hearing about any issues or experiences of an information technology nature that you may have
encountered in the course of connecting to other healthcare providers, and what solutions, if any, you have come up
with to resolve issues. An invitation to TILE will be sent out in April. The TILE Reports are designed to be used by
information systems personnel at any Ontario hospital.
For more information please contact Lan Djang at ldjang@oha.com, or call 416-205-1497.
Case Studies Portfolio Launch
In the spirit of sharing, supporting, learning, and connecting, the Hospital eHealth Council is pleased to announce the
launch of our new eHealth Case Study Portfolio, an initiative to profile and communicate eHealth achievements
within our membership.
The Hospital eHealth Council enthusiastically supports our membership in advancing and sharing their eHealth
successes across the broader health sector. Assembling, summarizing, and promoting our members’ journeys
through eHealth development and implementation has the potential to educate and empower stakeholders across
the healthcare system. With these tools, we can leverage our understanding of our contemporaries’ achievements
and learning, as well as use this information to identify opportunities for resource sharing and optimization. Even
more, sharing contact information offers the opportunity for knowledge transfer and project support.
A traditional Case Study illustrates the history, context, strategy, structure, implementation, and outcomes of real life
project examples. At the Ontario Hospital eHealth Council, we have been working to ensure that our Case Studies
contain enough pertinent information to be useful, without being burdensome to read. Limiting each study to a
maximum of 2 pages, we consistently report on: Background / Context; Solutions; Challenges; and Lessons Learned.
These cases reveal a wide range of strategies, options and lessons to support the Ontario hospital sector, and
beyond to broader health stakeholders.
To date, we have three Case Studies ready for circulation. These studies document the following initiatives:
• The Grand River Hospital: My CARE Source Patient Portal
• The Thames Valley Hospital Planning Partnership Experience: Reaching a Memorandum of
Understanding
• The Scarborough Hospital: Automation of Medical Systems for Patient Safety
We welcome your ideas for new Case Studies to add to our portfolio. Please contact Nancy Gabor at 416-205-1601,
or by email at ngabor@oha.com, for more information.
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