Orion Health helps Alberta physicians access information to better manage and improve the health of chronic disease patients

Published: 08/13

SANTA MONICA, CA, USA - (HealthTech Wire) - Orion Health, a leading provider of clinical workflow and integration technology for the healthcare sector, announces that Alberta’s Primary Care Networks (PCNs), are now piloting Orion Health technology to allow richer use of the data and information from their regional Chronic Disease Management Registries and advance the use of this information by Chronic Disease Management clinicians.

The solution, based on Concerto Physician Portal and cResults Viewer, allows physicians to quickly compare key indicators from their own diabetic patients against  nearly real-time data generated from the broader population. The technology further allows the physician to dynamically drill-down into those graphical results to a patient-centric view in order to make appropriate interventions before serious complications occur.

“This registry is revolutionary as it can help physician’s access patient records and quickly determine patients with high risk indicators and make recommendations for treatment.  The registry enables medical staff to intervene before their patient has a serious problem that could result in hospitalization,” stated Michael Craig, Orion Health Vice President Sales, Canada.

As a part of the Alberta-wide electronic health record (EHR) effort, the registry has the capability to pull from multiple data repositories across the province.  In the first year of implementation, the registry collected information on 8,034 diabetic patients.  More than 100 physicians, practicing in 22 clinics in three PCNs, are using the registry.  In the future, the registry will be able to provide actual information on disease prevalence for improved statistical information.

“The disease registry helps physicians to view all of the components of a patient’s condition including blood pressure, body mass index, and most recent lab results such as glycosylated haemoglobin (HBA1C).  By helping to ensure these areas are reviewed at each visit, patient progress can be better tracked,” Craig says.

The project has the potential to improve the overall health of patients in Alberta with chronic diseases.

When fully deployed, it is anticipated that the patient profile viewer and population dashboard, integrated with regional CDM registries, will be used by family physicians and specialists throughout the province to manage their chronic disease population.

Ultimately, it is expected that this initiative will lower healthcare costs related to chronic disease management and improve patient health outcomes by providing:

• A comprehensive chronic disease patient registry integrated with system and clinical care processes
  
• Automated tools to improve the health outcomes for attached patients (e.g. notification alerts)
  
• Ability to identify unattached patients
  
• Complete, current, accurate information on patients’ condition, plan of care, and compliance
  
• Improved communication amongst providers
  
• Focused intervention on the highest risk groups
  
• System-wide reporting to assist with program planning and population surveillance