British Columbia Health Authorities Break New Ground by Aligning Business Systems
(3/25/2010)

At a time when health care organizations are being asked to do more with less, MEDITECH's long-time customer, Interior Health Authority, has taken resource management to an entirely new level—with its groundbreaking alliance with neighboring health care entity Northern Health Authority.

The two Health Authorities, which together cover a huge swath of British Columbia's health care system, have recently begun working together to implement MEDITECH's 6.1 business I.T. platform. Their roll-out will begin later this year, as Interior Health and Northern Health collaborate on efforts to bring an unprecedented level of efficiency and data sharing to care providers throughout the province.

"The alignment of business systems using the advanced technology from MEDITECH will promote joint standards and resource sharing between Northern Health and Interior Health," says Northern Health CFO Shawn Terlson. "We will also work together to transition back office processes to the BC Health Authority Shared Service Organization. Bringing our knowledge and experience together will provide tremendous benefits to our individual health authorities and to the Province of British Columbia as we move forward to consolidate processes in support of provincial mandates."

The Health Authorities also look forward to using the 6.1 technology to help address the logistical challenges associated with providing care across such a vast province.

"We are embracing this opportunity to be able to reach out more effectively to the many small, remote communities, and to provide the best care for all residents within the interior of BC," says Mal Griffin, CIO at Interior Health Authority. "All of our organizations' leaders will be working very closely together on these common goals. We understand that it's not just an I.T. project; this alliance really affects every area of our health care business practices."

The stakes are high for both Health Authorities, as they collectively provide services to over one million residents within the BC province. However, MEDITECH's Vice President of Marketing Hoda Sayed-Friel believes that with a strong technology platform behind them, aligning business I.T. systems will prove to be a big win for everyone.

"We are proud of Interior and Northern Health Authorities for coming together and choosing a plan which will improve information sharing and business practices within BC's health care system," she says. "We look forward to continuing to work with them, as they forge this new path to excellence."


About Interior Health Authority
Interior Health Authority (Kelowna, BC), has been a MEDITECH customer for over 20 years. Interior Health was created by the Province of British Columbia from the amalgamation of three health regions as well as several local health areas. Interior Health serves a geographical area of almost 215,000 square kilometres and is comprised of 180 sites, including 28 acute care hospitals. Interior provides a wide range of care to meet the needs of its vast area population of over 700,000, from complex surgeries to everyday care.

About Northern Health Authority
MEDITECH is pleased to welcome Northern Health Authority (Prince George, BC), to the MEDITECH community. The Health Authority is responsible for the delivery of health care across Northern British Columbia, including acute care, mental health, public health, addictions, and home and community care services. Northern Health covers almost two-thirds of British Columbia's landscape, bordered by the Northwest and Yukon Territories to the north, the BC interior to the south, Alberta to the east, and Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

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