Benefits Evaluation Reports

This study evaluates the prevalence of clarification calls at four pharmacies in St. John’s, Newfoundland.  In addition, it set out to determine the reasons for the clarification calls, the time taken to make the calls, and to compare the clarification calls based on handwritten and printed prescriptions.

The National Nursing Quality Report – Canadian (NNQR-C) explores a one-year pilot project that was deployed in nine health care sites in Manitoba, Ontario, and New Brunswick . The project explored collection of a minimum data set to be made available through dashboard applications in healthcare institutions, and be benchmarked and used to influence policy directions for nursing.

Prescription drug misuse is acknowledged as an escalating problem in jurisdictions across Canada, including Newfoundland and Labrador. The extent is not clearly understood in the absence of a formal prescription drug monitoring or surveillance system. The 2009 evaluation, Illegal Use of Prescription Drugs Prior to Implementation of a Pharmacy Network revealed that health professionals believed that the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Network would be an important tool to reduce prescription drug misuse in the region. This March 2014 evaluation examined the impact of the Pharmacy Network on prescription drug misuse in a region of the province with a moderate level of connectivity to the Pharmacy Network.

The Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) Pharmacy Network is an on-line record of prescription drugs filled within the province. It is one of the key components of the provincial electronic health record (EHR). The purpose of this study was to examine the deployment and implementation of the NL Pharmacy Network in community pharmacies and identify potential barriers, facilitators and lessons learned that can be carried forward in further deployment and other EHR initiatives.

Resource Matching and Referral (RM&R) is a shared electronic tool that enables the transmission of electronic referrals between Health Service Providers in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TC LHIN). The benefits evaluation report provides an overview of the benefits introduced following implementation of the RM&R application across new units and service areas of the Hospital Expansion Project. The report also highlights key benefits to patients, providers and the health system, such as reduced processing time, enhanced communication and access to data that can be used to establish, monitor, and enforce best practices in referral management.

Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs) are medically-supervised, multi-disciplinary secondary prevention programs, effective at improving lifestyle behaviours and reducing risk factors in patients with cardiovascular disease. Despite the known benefits of CRPs, one of the key barriers to attendance is geographical proximity. A 'virtual' cardiac rehabilitation program (vCRP) website and the internet were used to deliver monitoring, education and support to patients residing in small urban and rural areas in British Columbia. The program was shown to be a safe, effective and economical solution for providing preventative care to heart disease patients.

This report investigates and evaluates whether a centralized provincial medication database, the Ontario Drug Profile Viewer (DPV), adds unique value (quality and efficiency) to a structured best possible medication history clinician process for admission medication reconciliation in elective surgery patients. The results highlight benefits such as improved quality of admission reconciliation practices by reducing discrepancies and potential adverse drug events.

This benefits evaluation report reviews Ontario’s Drug Profile Viewer (DPV) System, which was initially implemented in Emergency Departments (EDs) across Ontario. Authorized End Users were asked a series of questions about: ease of use; availability and support; implementation and training; and their satisfaction with the system.

This project was designed to test the implementation of tools and processes designed to further the transformation of data from primary care EMRs into usable information for the management and surveillance of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The project demonstrated that the implementation of an information management infrastructure at NYFHT, including the Data Presentation Tool and EMR data improved by Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), was feasible, usable, provided clinical value and is likely scalable for other primary care settings.

This report discusses the results of the Ontario Multi-Hospital Ambulatory Care Electronic Medical Record project. The report found improved outcomes such as a reduction in transcription costs and the reduction of clinical note turnaround time.  Challenges incorporating technology into busy workflows were highlighted as significant barriers to accelerated adoption.

The Group Health Centre (GHC) is multi-specialty, multi-disciplinary ambulatory care facility with diagnostic services located in northern Ontario.  GHC’s implementation of a new EMR solution sought to enable increased clinical efficiency and productivity and improve quality of patient care. This evaluation report found a trending decrease in transcription costs, improved connectivity with community and provincial stakeholders and set the foundation for the introduction of GHC’s patient portal, myCARE.

The Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Odette Ambulatory Electronic Medical Records (aEMR) Project was conducted to extend Sunnybrook’s own web-based clinician workflow platform, SunnyCare, to all clinicians in the Odette Cancer Centre. The evaluation report demonstrates that providing clinicians and administrative staff with a fully integrated aEMR supported safe and effective delivery of cancer care, and outlines critical success factors, lessons learned and recommendations.

The Group Health Centre (GHC) is Ontario's largest and longest established alternatively funded healthcare organization, offering primary and specialist ambulatory care. In September 2014, GHC implemented myCARE, a patient portal that allows patients and their caregiver’s access to their healthcare information.  This report highlights GHC’s implementation journey, outcomes from a comprehensive benefits evaluation and key recommendations for future implementations.

Health Quality Innovation Collaboration (HQIC) is a non-for-profit organization founded in Ontario by a group of primary care physicians. In January 2014, HQIC launched a patient portal, miDash, that can work across multiple Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). This report highlights benefits and lesson’s learned during HQIC’s implementation of miDash.

In 2013, Nova Scotia began the implementation of a province-wide clinical information system, the Secure Health Access Record (SHARE), which pulls together patient information from across Nova Scotia. The SHARE Viewer is a portal that clinicians use to access information such as laboratory results, consult notes, discharge summaries and diagnostic imaging reports. This evaluation focuses on user expectations, system utilization and efficiencies, and quality of the information available based on surveys and interview findings in Nova Scotia related to SHARE. Evaluation participants identified a number of benefits of SHARE, including improved quality and continuity of patient care and increased communication between providers and patients.

Recent studies indicate the increasing trend of smart phone and tablet use by healthcare providers (HCPs) as a tool to augment practice. It is a natural progression for a regional electronic health record (EHR) to be accessible with a mobile device. This report gives details on the findings of a trial conducted where HCPs used the mobile application from June 2012 to November 2013.

This report is a follow-up to the original report from 2011. Prince Edward Island’s Clinical Information System (CIS) connects the province’s hospitals in a real-time exchange of clinically relevant patient information. An evaluation to assess the benefits and overall impact of CIS was conducted by Health PEI, Canada Health Infoway, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information. The results show that the system improves quality of care, clinical decision-making, productivity, and provides easy access to lab results.

The Children’s Hospital for Eastern Ontario (CHEO) is a pediatric health and research center serving the national Capital region including Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, as well as Nunavut and parts of Northern Ontario.  CHEO implemented an ‘enterprise-wide’ integrated EHR between October 2013 and April 2015. This benefits evaluation measured a number of outcomes, including: clinic efficiency, ability to conduct quality improvement and patient access.  Significant improvements were demonstrated in most areas. A key enabler to implementation success points to advancing clinician utilization patterns and the integration of use with clinical workflow.

The Children’s Hospital for Eastern Ontario (CHEO) servicing Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec, Nunavut and parts of Northern Ontario implemented an integrated Electronic Health Record (EHR) including MyChart, a secure online portal in CHEO’s Diabetes Clinic. Online access of MyChart resulted in improvements in accuracy of health information, security and privacy of personal information and ease of use. Lessons learned were also gathered around patient and clinician engagement as well as deployment and management of consumer health solutions for future implementations. * Available in English only

In December 2014, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital implemented a consumer health portal, connect2care, that allows patients and families to view components of their clinical health record, book appointments, request changes to their schedule and communicate with their health care team. This benefits evaluation report examines the effects of the portal on patient/caregiver satisfaction, perceptions of engagement in the care process, and impact on patient/caregiver-provider communication.

The Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness undertook a two-year demonstration project to introduce a Personal Health Record (PHR) to the provincial health care system by implementing the RelayHealth PHR solution within the Capital Health district. The purpose of this benefits evaluation was to determine if there is a viable business case for the government of Nova Scotia to roll out the RelayHealth PHR solution province-wide. The findings reveal that a PHR can contribute to increased practice capacity providing more services to more patients and can support improved self-management for chronic conditions.

In March 2015, Barrie and Community Family Health Team (BCFHT) undertook a demonstration project which included the launch of myhealthlinked patient portal. The objective of this Benefits Evaluation report was to uncover any evidence to support sustainability and adoption of this consumer health solution in the community.

This report explores the benefits realized from the eHealth Saskatchewan Citizen Health Information Portal (CHIP) Pilot project. CHIP, a citizen-centric personal health record (PHR), allows individual participants to view their personal health information and communicate with their provider(s) and schedule appointments.

This research study was designed to explore the views of Saskatchewan citizens who took part in the eHealth Saskatchewan Citizen Health Information Portal (CHIP) Pilot project. The study explored the portal use of citizens and the subsequent influence of this technology on perceptions of engagement and empowerment in their own healthcare journeys. 

This paper discusses the demonstrated value from citizen access to their health information during the pilot phase of Saskatchewan’s Citizen Health Information Portal (CHIP). Citizens expressed a positive experience with CHIP through a mixed-method evaluation approach that included surveys, focus groups, and individual testimonials during and after the six-month pilot.

The launch of MySaskHealthRecord has ushered in a new beginning for the citizens of Saskatchewan. The surveys have shown how powerful this tool has been for citizens, providers, and the overall healthcare system in the improvement and management of healthcare.

This report summarizes the benefits realized and lessons learned from the implementation of an ambulatory (outpatient) electronic patient record (aEPR) with integration to internal and external key clinical systems across Women’s College Hospital’s (WCH) clinics and departments. * Available in English only

This benefits evaluation report for the Health System Use STI Project examines how the sexually transmitted infections (STI) decision support tool was being used and to describe the perceived and demonstrated short and long-term benefits.

This is an executive summary of a benefits evaluation report for the Health System Use STI Project examines how the sexually transmitted infections (STI) decision support tool was being used and to describe the perceived and demonstrated short and long-term benefits. The full report is available here.

This report are the lessons learned from a Health System Use STI Project  which examined how the sexually transmitted infections (STI) decision support tool was being used and to describe the perceived and demonstrated short and long-term benefits. The full report is available here.

In 2006, Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) began to implement a systemic therapy (chemotherapy) computerized physician order entry (CPOE) for five cancer service institutions across Ontario.  Southlake Regional Health Centre was the first of the five sites to complete the implementation of OPIS 2005.This report describes the benefits OPIS 2005 had on patient safety and quality of care at this site.

This report provides the summary of findings from three phases of the Benefits Evaluation of the Quality of Life tool integration into Cancer Surgery Alberta (CSA). The report focuses on the evaluation of access,use, and experience of the tool.

This report provides an overview of the Health PEI Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) project and shares critical success factors of implementation as well as lessons learned.

This benefits evaluation report evaluates Cancer Care Ontario’s Diagnostic Assessment Program-Electronic Pathway Solution (DAP-EPS). It focuses on usability and user feedback on the application, adoption of the tool among patients, care providers and Diagnostic Assessment Program (DAP) staff, and the benefits that the DAP-EPS delivers to its users including patient experience.

A benefits evaluation report examining the benefits of mobile devices and mobile application implementation and use in a hospital setting. The interviews and surveys were conducted at The Ottawa Hospital.

The Multi-Jurisdictional Telepathology Project represents the first phase in the development of a Pan-Canadian Digital Pathology Network. As of 2014, Ontario successfully realized the implementation of a telepathology network that connected northern sites to urban centres within the province.  This report is an evaluation of the success of the Ontario program, which will help inform further expansion of the telepathology network across the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.

The Multi-Jurisdictional Telepathology (MJT) Project involves implementation of a software solution and technical infrastructure to support secondary consultation workflows between pathologists across provinces. The first phase of the project, the basis for the current evaluation, is focused on development of the telepathology network in the provinces of Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario.

Read the background summary of the Evaluation of the Multi-Jurisdictional Telepathology Project to learn more about the different models used to connect pathology services across Canada, including their impact and challenges in implementation and adoption.

An executive report on the benefit evaluation of implementation and use of the immunization registry module of Panorama in the province of Quebec. The report describes perceived facilitators and barriers to implementation as well as overall benefits of the module. Results indicate that 88% of users were satisfied or highly satisfied with the immunization registry module and 77% of them indicated that using the system increased their productivity. Recommendations are mentioned for sustainability of the system.

Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) invested in a demonstration project on e-booking that was evaluated by a research team from HEC Montreal and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. The report found that e-booking had a significant impact on both patients and clinicians and reported strong satisfaction with e-booking due to increased flexibility, time-saved and decreased no-show appointments. The research study supports Infoway's recently released whitepaper: Evaluating the value, benefits and common concerns of e-Booking.

This report summarizes the findings from the benefits evaluation of eReferral program conducted in Manitoba. Manitoba eHealth will use the findings from this evaluation to identify opportunities for improvement and to inform future planning related to the assessment.

This document provides a condensed and visual representation of the University of British Columbia report on the WelTel mHealth Program . The report was funded by Infoway.

Group Health Centre (GHC) launched a project to evaluate the benefits resulting from the implementation of myCARE patient portal. This report details the benefits focus areas selected, activities and tasks planned to collect data, analysis and the timeframe for producing the final benefits evaluation report.

This report explores the value of PEI’s Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program in providing digital health solutions to patients living with congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a Canada Health Infoway funded program, this study evaluates efficiency using measures that include: acute care utilization, clinical impact, and access to quality care and found that 90% of participants reported a significant improvement in managing their own conditions, illustrating an 80% decrease in hospital admissions.

This report assesses the effectiveness of Eastern Health’s Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) program for patients living with a chronic disease. Using a quasi- experimental approach, this study evaluates patients on the ability to self-manage their chronic conditions, while also measuring the corresponding impact on program costs and hospital utilization. This study found that 81.7% of patients strongly agreed the program improved quality of life, and also suggests a 58.46% decrease in hospital admissions.

This report analyzes the primary effects and lessons learned of implementing the Community Paramedicine Remote Patient Monitoring (CPRPM) Program for patients living with various chronic conditions. This home-based monitoring system aims to help patients self-manage their conditions through the support of professional coaching and feedback. Findings of this study illustrates a reduction in ED transport by 31%, suggesting an overall improvement in paramedic services.

This report conducts an in depth analysis of phase II in the Interior Health Cardiac Home Monitoring Project. This Infoway funded project evaluates the benefits of implementing remote patient monitoring services for patients living with heart failure. Key findings of this study illustrates significant improvements in patient satisfaction, quality of life and self-care resulting in a 71% decrease in emergency department admissions.

This report is a benefits evaluation of the Telehomecare Heart Failure pilot projects of both the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Interior Health Authority. Its findings on realized benefits are outlined according to three dimensions: quality of care and health, access and participation and productivity and coordination. This report is available in English only.

This report looks at the TeleOphthalmology project, led by the Inter Tribal Health Authority (ITHA) in collaboration with the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA). The project, was jointly funded by Canada Health Infoway and First Nations Inuit Health (FNIH), and was designed to enable screening eye examinations of First Nations patients at risk of diabetic retinopathy who live in remote Vancouver Island communities. The project was designed to capture retinal disease in First Nations individuals at an early stage and allow for timely vision-saving treatment.

The Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) Telehomecare Patient Experience Survey was disseminated across eight Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and more than 180 patients aged 75 to 84 years of age responded.  The survey concentrated on patients’ experience with  the OTN Telehomecare program and the findings were very positive.  Infoway co-funded the expansion of Telehomecare across the province along with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). The report is available in English only.

The Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) Telehomecare Patient Experience Survey was disseminated across eight Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) and more than 180 patients aged 75 to 84 years of age responded.  The survey concentrated on patients’ experience with  the OTN Telehomecare program and the findings were very positive.  Infoway co-funded the expansion of Telehomecare across the province along with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). The report is available in English only. * See also: OTN Telehomecare System and Use Survey Final Report

The report for the Ontario Telemedicine Network’s Telehomecare initiative shows that telehomecare can be a model of care that connects patients to their healthcare teams in real time, which can shift the health system from expensive hospital-based acute and emergency department care to a more proactive community-based model. The report for the Ontario Telemedicine Network’s Telehomecare initiative shows that telehomecare can be a model of care that connects patients to their healthcare teams in real time, which can shift the health system from expensive hospital-based acute and emergency department care to a more proactive community-based model.

In October 2014, the Ontario Telemedicine Network launched the expansion of their telehomecare project to 3500 patients with chronic disease throughout Ontario.  This benefits evaluation report exhibits the impact of the telehomecare program such as an increase in the ability for patients to manage their symptoms and a decrease in emergency department and hospital admissions.

This report examines Island Health’s Home Health Monitoring (HHM) program to ensure a self-sustaining method of care for patients living with heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Using a mixed methods approach, findings of this study suggests that 92% of patients reported overall satisfaction in managing and improving their care while also reflecting an 81% decline in emergency department visits.

This small scale evaluation of Telehomecare for step-down care post-NICU discharge in New Brunswick provides important evidence and lessons for future telehomecare investments for new parents.

Traditional wound care is costly to the system (over $1 billion in Ontario) and time consuming for patients. This study of a TeleWound project conducted in the Central Eastern LHIN found an 89% patient satisfaction rate with 3 hours of patient travel time saved per month. The program reduced the need for patients to go to emergency departments or walk-in clinics, and the study estimated that telewound care could save $5800/patient/year.

While most Canadians would prefer to die at home, almost 2/3 of palliative care patients will die in hospital. This study of TelePalliative projects in the Champlain and Erie St. Clair LHINs demonstrated that patients were satisfied with the program, had better quality of life and avoided visits to the ER.

This benefits evaluation report discusses the implementation of patient order sets at long-term care sites in the Mississauga Halton LHIN between November 2012 and March 2014. The report evaluates the impact of order sets on improved care delivery, increased adherence to evidence-based best practices in long-term care, clinical process efficiencies and advances in inter-professional knowledge, communication and collaboration.

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC), Canada Health Infoway, four provinces and clinical leaders collaborated to develop pan-Canadian data collection tools and clinical indicators for breast, colorectal, thyroid, lung, ovarian, endometrial and prostate cancers. The report found that standardized electronic reporting and clinical indicators are helpful to assess and improve quality of surgical care and measure patient outcomes.

The Canada Health Infoway model for benefits evaluation demonstrates the broad strokes of defining and identifying benefits. This is an example of the evaluation methodology used in New Brunswick's iEHR / Lab scoping initiative.

This system and use assessment survey is designed to assess user adoption, use, and information and system quality of the health information system implemented, as well as, the level of satisfaction amongst end-users.

View articles on JMIR by Infoway authors and partners on the Canada Health Infoway Benefits Evaluation e-Collection. 

This handbook presents the science and practice of eHealth evaluation based on empirical evidence gathered over many years within the health informatics discipline.

The 2022 PrescribeIT® System and Use Survey, developed by Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) and administered by Leger, aims to assess the use, experiences and perceptions around various aspects of PrescribeIT® among prescribers and pharmacies.

The primary objective of this review was to map and characterize the current evidence on e-prescribing and medication safety in community settings. A secondary objective was to identify outcomes related to prescriber uptake of e-prescribing and efficiency.

This rapid scoping review highlights initial promising results with e-prescribing and opioid therapy management. A key aspect for consideration is how e-prescribing can be used and related outcomes based on whether opioids are used on a chronic basis.

This systematic review summarizes the current evidence on the effect of electronic prescriptions on adherence to prescribed medications when compared to paper-based prescriptions.

This study explored physician experiences of using an AI Scribe, with a focus on the potential for time savings and reduction of administrative and cognitive burden for physicians.