RENFREW — Enhanced services for patients are at the root of a new partnership between Renfrew Victoria Hospital and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI). Now, echocardiograms completed at RVH will be read by cardiac specialists at the Heart Institute.
“This initiative allows for the real-time transfer of orders, images and reports between RVH, UOHI and The Ottawa Hospital and facilitates the interpretation and reporting of echo studies performed at RVH by cardiologists at UOHI,” stated Dr. Thierry Mesana, President and CEO, University of Ottawa Heart Institute.
The Xcelera echocardiogram imaging and reporting system went live with the first patient on last month. The project team reported that the technology worked seamlessly, thanks to the hard work of staff at RVH, UOHI and The Ottawa Hospital (TOH).
Echocardiograms are a pain-free test using sound waves that help to identify heart disease—the new integrated system allows for more efficient service.
As Julia Boudreau, RVH VP of Corporate Services, explains, the collaboration will decrease wait times for tests, reduce the need for retests as results will be readily available to physicians at both RVH and UOHI, and improve continuity of care. She expressed her appreciation to everyone involved from all three organizations.
“My sincere appreciation goes out to everybody who worked on this project,” she said.
“This partnership is another example of how important integration of services is to bring high-quality patient care closer to home, and how we can continually work together to improve patient services,” added Phil Crozier, RVH Diagnostic Imaging, referring to the earlier integration of radiology imaging services with The Ottawa Hospital.
Dr. Rob Beanlands, Chief of Cardiology at UOHI and Dr. Steve Radke, RVH Chief of Staff, agree this is an exciting partnership. It will increase RVH’s capacity to perform echos and ensure that tests at both institutions adhere to the same standards, said Dr. Radke.
“The RVH echo lab will be held to the same accreditation standards as UOHI ensuring ongoing quality assurance,” he stated.
“Our hospital has had a wonderful working relationship with UOHI and TOH over the years,” said Randy Penney, RVH President and CEO. “This new agreement will take us to a completely new level. For our patients, it will mean improved access to the cardiac specialists at UOHI.”
Mr. Penney concluded, “A lot of teamwork went into making this project a success. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
