Novari Health software to reduce surgical wait times across eastern Ontario
The Ontario government announced today, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, that it is investing in the implementation of new, innovative software in hospitals across Eastern Ontario, utilizing a product designed by Novari Health, a Kingston-based digital health company focused on systems that improve access to care.
Created specifically to reduce wait time for surgeries, the HUB, built by Novari Health, consolidates patients waiting for surgery into a real-time regional wait list system using interactive mapping and analytics tools. Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) has been using this software since its inception and, in the summer of 2021, a Novari platform was integrated with the Cerner Millennium system to create a shared health information system for Southeastern Ontario. Read more about Novari Health’s journey in our previous coverage here.
“The Novari Health team is tremendously proud to launch the Centralized Regional Surgical Wait List Management HUB today in Eastern Ontario,” said John Sinclair, President and CEO of Novari Health. “This ground-breaking technology provides the hospitals with the tools they need to coordinate surgical services in real time within the region, all while supporting better patient outcomes while tackling the surgical backlog. Novari Health thanks the Ontario Government for funding this made-in-Ontario technology. “
According to a release from the provincial government, the HUB, which will improve the coordination of surgical services between hospitals in eastern Ontario, means patients may be able to receive their surgery sooner at a different hospital. In addition to this regional HUB, technology built by Ontario Health will also improve waitlist management across the province.
“Integrating this made-in-Ontario software in hospitals across eastern Ontario will mean shorter wait times for patients awaiting surgery and a more efficient use of hospital resources,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This is an excellent example of the innovation we are calling for, all with the goal of improving our health system and creating a better experience for the patient.”
The software, in collaboration with hospitals across the region, will integrate with existing hospital IT systems to gain an overall picture of backlogs, speed up wait times, and help identify bottlenecks at various stages of the surgical process, according to the release.
The province said that investments in the Centralized Waitlist Management (CWM) program are providing funding for regionally led projects across Ontario that support enhanced load balancing of surgical cases and reductions in patient wait times, as well as for Ontario Health’s development of the technical infrastructure required to support centralized waitlist management at the provincial level.
This appears to be a game changer! However will individual surgeon wait lists merge as well? If surgeons continue to maintain individual wait lists and compete for operating room time, their patients may be no further ahead.
Another way of reducing wait times would be to remove unnecessary bureaucracies and invest in nurses and doctors. Or is that direction too obvious?
Has anyone EVER witness a new software system work properly? Especially when the Ontario government is involved. Look out healthcare, they’re about to kick you while you’re down