Interior Health Authority Leads the Way in MDS Assessment Tool Implementation
October 27, 2004
Campana Systems Inc. is pleased to announce that, following the mandate of the BC government for community care agencies to implement an MDS-HC tool by April 2005, the Interior Health Authority (IHA) has selected GoldCare for their home and community care system to meet this mandate. In doing so, IHA has taken a leadership role in that province's initiative for a common community care-access system, placing them ahead of schedule.
With the implementation of GoldCare's Assessment Information Manager (AIM) and Care Anywhere technology, IHA closes in on its goal as the first region in the province with fully-integrated Electronic Client Records and a Home and Community Care information system. AIM - GoldCare's MDS-HC assessment tool - is designed to provide crucial information about the needs of the client, and aid in the planning and delivery of better quality care. Quality Indicators, RUGs Care Plans, Outcomes and Assessment Protocols are integrated in AIM, which is licensed by interRAI.
The Minimum Data Set (MDS) from interRAI provides comprehensive, standardized assessment items for evaluating the health and functional status of care recipients. Information collected using an MDS assessment tool can be used to help create care plans, track client progress and provide data for quality improvement, program planning and evaluation.
Of interest to IHA was AIM's ability to implement custom assessments, such as the Regina Risk Indicator Tool (RRIT), and the ability of GoldCare to seamlessly interface with their prime electronic health record information system, Meditech. Further efficiency is achieved through the use of Care Anywhere - GoldCare's Point of Care system, which provides community care providers the flexibility and mobility to complete assessments in a client's home and then synchronize updated client data to a central database server. Together, AIM and Care Anywhere provide clients with comprehensive and highly flexible data-collection capabilities.
Campana Systems - developers of GoldCare - credit the successful and timely implementation of the MDS Assessment tool to IHA's commitment to the government's initiative. Norma Malanowich, Director of Electronic Health Records Development for IHA says this of their success, "Investing in technology is a critical strategy for ensuring the continued evolution of our home and community care programs. A solid mobile software solution coupled with clinical and technical implementation teams emphasizing change management, training and ongoing support were the foundational elements of this project."
With 289 active users and 6,500 electronic interRAI assessments completed to date, the final group of users will begin utilizing the system in February 2005, marking the completion of 4 implementation projects for the home and community care system.
About Interior Health Authority
Interior Health was created by the Province of British Columbia in December 2001, from the amalgamation of three health regions as well as several local health areas.
Interior Health serves a large geographical area, covering 200-thousand square Kilometres, from Williams Lake in the north, east to the Alberta border and south to the US border, comprising mostly of rural communities. The population base is over 700-thousand.
With the implementation of Campana's GoldCare solution, the organization now operates on a single, integrated, efficient system for home and community care.
About GoldCare
Developed by Campana Systems, GoldCare's suite of care-management applications integrates clinical, administrative, financial and reporting requirements for single or multi-site health-services providers. GoldCare offers business, resident and community support management, scheduling, payroll and fully-integrated Health Records that includes MDS with QI, RUGS, Outcomes and Care Plan Builder. For more information about Campana Systems and GoldCare, visit our website at www.mygoldcare.com.