Local healthcare systems are turning to technology to improve care for patients.
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is joining hospitals across the Erie-St. Clair LHIN in adopting a new patient care program called eVOLVE, which will utilize a new Health Information System (HIS) designed to assist doctors and hospital staff.
The HGDH board heard an update on eVOLVE at its meeting on Wednesday night. Planning for the system had begun last summer with a rollout, with a target date of June 1 of this year.
Dr. Andrea Steen, chief of staff for HDGH, said the program would be a considerable change for staff and that there will be some growing pains.
"It's a major transformation for the physicians," said Steen. "It's a huge change in the way they practice. It does slow you down. We all have computers in our offices, and initially, it does cause a lot of stress, and it slows you down. But, you would never go back to paper, because it's so much better for the information."
Doctors, nurses and other staff at HDGH use paper charts for patients. HDGH CEO Janice Kaffer said eVOLVE would be a huge change that would take gettings used to, but it would place them on a level with other comparable health care systems.
"You go across to the Detroit Medical [Center], you see the staff walking in the hallways, and they have these workstations on wheels," said Kaffer. "They document in real-time, into the chart, with the patient there with them."
eVOLVE will be similar to the system used by the DMC, which is in place to cut back on physician errors and ensure that the latest information on a patient can be accessed to those concerned at their fingertips.
Complete information on the eVOLVE technology is available on its official website.
