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Project Profiles
As a collaborative of the western provinces and territories, WHIC explores
common opportunities that meet western provinces and territories health
information needs and support the strategic directions and initiatives for
health infostructure at the national level. Currently, the following
are ongoing projects / initiatives at WHIC:
Other additional initiatives under the WHIC umbrella include Continuing
Care, Ambulance Patient Care Information
Systems, Consumer Access for Health Information,
Waitlist and observation on initiatives
such as e-Claims
and Data Warehouse.
Provider Registry [Lead - British Columbia]
The Provider Registry is a standards-based repository of core provider data supplied by authorized sources, and available to authorized consumers, that will facilitate the formal exchange of health information. Uniquely identifying providers will facilitate the transmission of health information between participating organizations and is one of the fundamental building blocks towards the realization of the pan-Canadian Electronic Health Record (EHR). The project is a Western Health Information Collaborative (WHIC) initiative, led by the BC Ministries of Health Planning and Health Services.
The Provider Registry System (PRS) has been designed and built, with the potential to be implemented by any Canadian province or territory, and expanded as a model for national data standards. Each participating province-British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba-has implemented the common Provider Registry product within their existing technical infrastructure (i.e. servers, message routing, etc.), initially populating it with data from their respective key Colleges. The PRS will ensure the security of patient health information by employing or enabling proven security and privacy techniques.
Further to the original PRS project, in the fall of 2003, Infoway
announced they would provide funding for delivery and integration
efforts with British Columbia and Saskatchewan on two separate projects
related to the development of a reusable provider registry, existing the
use functionality and uptake of the Provider Registry System.
For additional information view Provider Registry page.
Client Registries [Lead - Manitoba]
A common Client Registry is a fundamental building block towards the realization of an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and enables the accurate, consistent, unique identification of clients. With the increasing focus of health care delivery on the needs of the individuals receiving care, a client registry and identification of health service recipients are key elements of any health service encounter.
Areas of collaborative opportunities identified by WHIC participants include standards development, which can be divided into two categories: messaging standards and standards around client authentication, matching records (duplicates) and data (content). Specific activities and next steps include the analysis, development and reconciliation of the
business processes, business function lists and messaging requirements; identification of client authentication requirements including matching and data standards; and identification of jurisdiction-level (WHIC and large regions) opportunities, roles and responsibilities.
Pharmacy/PIN [Lead - Alberta]
The Pharmaceutical Information Network (PIN) is the cornerstone project of the Alberta Wellnet initiative. The primary goal of PIN is to deliver improved quality of care by providing healthcare professionals with the information and tools needed to make optimal drug therapy decisions. PIN is a next-generation pharmacy network that has been developed in consultation with healthcare professionals from many disciplines.
PIN provides end-to-end automation of the prescribing and dispensing process. Physicians use an active medication profile to gain an accurate understanding of current medications, consult the decision support tools to assist with medications decisions and create or change medications through Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) at the point of care. PIN has been designed to be time neutral in patient encounters and to accommodate physician workflows.
Patients are provided with a legible paper prescription that is also stored in a central repository. Patients continue to choose the pharmacy of their choice. Pharmacists retrieve prescriptions electronically and with fewer issues to be resolved at the point of dispensing since the prescriptions are legible and have been checked for common problems during entry. Dispensing records are matched with prescribing records so that compliance can be more easily determined and addressed by healthcare providers.
For additional information view Pharmacy/PIN page.
The WHIC jurisdictions are in the process of validating opportunities for collaboration with regard to primary
health care and chronic disease management. Primary Health Care (PHC) is the first point of contact of individuals with the health system. At this level, health services are mobilized and coordinated to promote health, prevent illness, care for common illness and to manage ongoing problems. Primary health care includes a vast array of services and such services involve a variety of health professionals. Provinces and territories are all increasing their focus on strategies to address the challenges and changes in primary care.
As strategies for chronic disease management evolve within the western provinces, integration of, primary care, multi-disciplinary care efforts, the electronic health record, and chronic disease management initiatives is essential. This initiative will firstly explore collaborative opportunities in chronic disease management and the effective use of information in support of this component of primary health care management.
For additional information view Chronic Disease
Management page
Laboratory Information [Lead - Alberta]
WHIC jurisdictions have agreed to address and develop a common view of laboratory business approaches, strategies and options. A vision and common business model for laboratory information exchange has been developed through consultation and recent workshops with the four western provinces, several regions within those provinces and other provincial jurisdictions.
The requirements for effective laboratory information exchange can be met through: appropriate order, results and supporting repositories; messaging and nomenclature standards; and linkages to the Electronic Health Record and to clinical data and public health repositories. A solid business case identifies that this vision and model of laboratory information exchange: provides effective laboratory results for physicians and other providers; supports efficiency, quality and cost containment; and enables and accelerates the building of the EHR. Beginning with further identification of laboratory information requirements, functions and messaging requirements, it is anticipated that a pan-Canadian standard for laboratory information will be developed in conjunction with
CIHI.
Ambulance Patient Care Information
Systems [Lead - Saskatchewan]
Architecture [Lead - WHIC Secretariat]
Information architects form the Health Ministries of the four western provinces have formed a working group to discuss and compare information architectures. Participant jurisdictions have agreed to document the de facto standards and determine alignment for technical, data, security and application architectures. This project will initially focus on the Provider Registry and expand to include the standards framework for the priority areas of pharmacy, laboratory and other registries.
Telehealth [Lead - WHIC Secretariat (rotating chair)]
A Telehealth Working Group has been established under the auspices of WHIC. The working group agreed to share information, collaborative opportunities, and discuss issues which enable improved information sharing and input into national telehealth directions (within current national structures). Further opportunities for collaboration will be assessed and considered as they present themselves.
Consumer Access to Health Information [Lead - WHIC Secretariat]
WHIC is monitoring jurisdictional and national activities for the delivery of consumer health information including Services Directory, Referral Service, Health Information and Telephone triage (via voice, web and/or hardcopy). The Canadian Health Network (CHN) Western region worked with regions in the west to develop a proposal to focus on developing common services directory structure and nomenclature, which was not approved. The Advisory Committee for Health Infostructure (ACHI) has recently (spring 2002) identified consumer access to health information as a priority. Forums are planned through the Office of the Health Information Highway (OHIH) of Health Canada.
For additional information view Consumer Access to Health Information page.
Continuing Care [Lead - Manitoba]
The four western provinces and the Yukon Territory collaborated on a submission to request funding from the Canadian Health Infostructure Partnerships Program (CHIPP). This proposal was to support a Continuing Care Electronic Health Record Initiative (CCEHRI) project designed to enhance the continuing care system through the development, evaluation and refinement of electronic health record capabilities. A family of assessment/screening/case management products was to be implemented and tested in relation to a selection of information and communication technologies (ICT) in various settings (rural, remote, and urban).
The CHIPP proposal was not successful in accessing funding for the CCEHRI project, however participants have continued to collaborate. Several collaborative areas of opportunity were identified and include home care tool evaluation, data and reporting standards, evaluation frameworks, and business requirements for information technology initiatives. During the upcoming year participants will address the top priority areas of home care linkages, requirements and data sets; as well as vendor capacity, with Manitoba taking the lead.
For additional information view Continuing Care page.
E-Claims Standard [Lead - British Columbia]
The purpose of the Electronic Claims Standard Definition project was established to define a standard for electronic transmission of health claim data between providers and payors. Also included were data, security, audit, compliance, and communications standards. This is a major step towards ensuring single, consistent data standards for electronic billing and reporting, regardless of payor. Data collected includes client, provider, facility, diagnostic and preventative intervention coding.
The process for the development of this e-Claims standard included broad consultation with the stakeholder community including: Chiropractors and Physical Therapists, insurance carriers such as Medical Services Plan (MSP), the Workers' Compensation Board of British Columbia (WCB), the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), as well as, extended benefit carriers such as Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) and Third Party Administrators, such as Assure Health and Software Support Organizations.
It was recognized that the outcome of this project would have significant value across all Canadian jurisdictions. As a result the National e-Claims Standards committee was established under the auspices of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to oversee the completion of this project.
Detailed information on National Electronic Claims Standards (NECST) is available on the CIHI website.
For additional information view E-Claims Standards page.
Data Warehouse [Lead - WHIC Secretariat]
The WHIC Leaders are interested in monitoring the progress of BC's HNData project. HNData is a 'data warehouse, which is a very large specialized database for information related to the health sector in British Columbia. HNData integrates information regarding regional care, hospital, ambulance, Continuing Care, Mental Health, Medical Services Plan, Pharmacare, Surgical Wait List, Vital Statistics, and Preventive
Health.
Waitlist [Lead - SK/WHIC Secretariat]
The management of waitlists has received increasing attention in recent months. The WHIC Leaders agreed to pursue validation of potential opportunities for collaboration around waitlists. Through conference calls it has been determined that there is significant cost avoidance potential, available project leadership from Alberta with strong interest from SK and longer term interest from BC in project collaboration. A sample structure is already available, based on the Provider Registry project - all in support of a collaborative Waitlist Registry project, based on and using the BC Waitlist system as a starting point. SK will confirm their participation and Alberta will follow up on lead potential, project initiation timing and potential involvement of BC.
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