[news 2007 - 2008]

Wait-list tool enhances access to endoscopy in Southeastern Ontario

For immediate release

March 11, 2008

KINGSTON, ON -- Southeastern Ontario residents waiting for endoscopy services at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston are now assured of improved access to those services, thanks to a new wait list management tool launched by the hospital earlier this year.

The tool, Axcess.Rx D&T, replaces paper-based record-keeping with a single-entry electronic system that seamlessly links the hospital, family physicians and patient records. The software system enables priority setting, standardized patient preparation, and more efficient scheduling and follow-up. It also streamlines booking requests, scheduling, registration and notification processes.

The system not only eliminates staff time tracking down patient records; the breadth of information now available at-a-glance and on-line means that Hotel Dieu can manage its provision of endoscopy services – a high-demand area – more efficiently.

“Now we have up-to-the minute information on patients waiting for these services,” says Hugh Graham, Executive Director of Hotel Dieu. “Previously, we didn’t have a comprehensive view of the demand. Now we know just where we need to put our efforts to improve access for particular groups of patients.” “Now we have up-to-the minute information on patients waiting for these services,” says Hugh Graham, Executive Director of Hotel Dieu. “Previously, we didn’t have a comprehensive view of the demand. Now we know just where we need to put our efforts to improve access for particular groups of patients.”

Axcess.Rx D&T was developed by AdapCS Canada Corp. of Kingston, in cooperation with Kingston General Hospital. The technology was licensed to AdapCS Canada by PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s University and Kingston General Hospital.

Implementation of Axcess.Rx D&T could not have come at a better time, hospital staff say. In early January, Ontario began distributing screening kits to family physicians and pharmacies as part of its colorectal cancer screening program for older adults. That move will result in a substantial increase in referrals for colonoscopies, an endoscopic procedure. Hotel Dieu is now in a position to receive these referrals and handle them in the most efficient fashion, says Mr. Graham.

“We now have a system that tracks the patient from first referral through prioritization, preparation, booking request, scheduling, post procedural documentation and reporting without any duplicate entry,” says Theresa Markowski, Clinical Project Manager, Endoscopy Wait List Management System. “It supports easy communication between the endoscopy suite, physicians’ offices and patient registration.

“The system is improving our ability to schedule patients correctly, keep them informed, and improve our performance in the endoscopy suite.”

“The beauty of this system is its flexibility,” says Dr. John Marshall, CEO of AdapCS.Canada. “It allows hospitals to manage patients waiting for a wide variety of other, non-operative diagnostic and therapeutic procedures – such as those carried out in sleep labs, cystoscopy suites and cardiac catheterization labs.”

In Nova Scotia, Axcess.Rx D&T is now being considered for use to improve access for patients waiting for chronic pain management services.

“This system, which is the first result of the partnership between AdapCS.Canada and Hotel Dieu, will soon be used by plastic surgeons in the hospital to improve access for minor procedures carried out in clinics,” Dr. Marshall says.

“We’re very excited and proud that this new application for our software will benefit patients in so many ways.”

Contact:
AdapCS.Canada
Dr. John Marshall
President & CEO
AdapCS.Canada Corp.
P: 613. 531. 3008 x 202
E: jmarshall@adapcscanada.com

Hotel Dieu Hospital
Ms Anne Rutherford
Public Relations Specialist
Hotel Dieu Hospital
P: 613. 544. 3400 x 3380
E: rutherfa@hdh.kari.net

About AdapCS.Canada
AdapCS.Canada. was founded in 2003 by Dr. John Marshall and John Lott of Kingston, Ontario and AdapCS. Inc. of Marina, California, with the assistance of PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University. AdapCS.Canada offers information technologies and services for the Canadian healthcare market that focus specifically on clinical and financial outcomes, accountability, and access to care.
http://www.adapcscanada.com/

About Hotel Dieu Hospital:
Hotel Dieu Hospital’s mission is to provide the highest quality of specialist consultative, diagnostic and procedural ambulatory services for the Academic Health Sciences Centre of Southeastern Ontario. It is a member of Kingston’s University Hospitals, which includes Kingston General Hospital and Providence Continuing Care Centre. Kingston’s University Hospitals provide a continuum of specialized health care in the region, including clinical care, research and teaching.
http://www.hoteldieu.com/