A number of clinical, financial and administrative applications are currently shared among several hospitals in the region. These applications run on a common file server infrastructure using a 3-tier client server architecture. Benefits of this initiative include cost savings of the information technology by group licensing of applications and operational support. The most significant benefit is that the continuum of patient care is enabled and enhanced by the sharing of patient information between facilities where applicable and appropriate. Additional hospitals and healthcare providers may be joining this regional initiative in one part or another if costs of bandwidth access, applications, and data sharing meet their business requirements namely the care of patients we serve on a regional referral basis.

Applications will include:

Mental Health Patient Assessments and Consultations
Emergency Medicine Patient Assessments, Stabilization and     Consultations
Medical Education, Clinical Consultations and Grand Rounds
Administrative Meetings and Educational Sessions

Benefits include savings in time and travel expenses and quicker response for better patient care. By clicking on the images below, you can view videos which show how telemedicine and video conferencing are currently being used in Simcoe County. These videos are encoded for RealPlayer, which you can download here.

There is a requirement for patients who are referred from one hospital in the region to another to go to the referral hospital to have pre-admission lab and diagnostic imaging testing, orientation/education performed. This requires the patient to travel to the referral hospital several weeks prior to their scheduled admission and surgery. In using a combination of Telemedicine and other Information Technologies, this pre-admission work could be performed in the patient's hometown. Benefits include the reduction of additional or duplicated diagnostic tests and saving the patient travel time and associated expenses.