Orion Health, an ITAC Health member and a leader in population health management solutions, announced recently that their electronic referral management solution (eReferral) is now available province-wide in Alberta for referrals made to lung cancer, breast cancer, and hip & knee joint replacement surgery.

This eReferral implementation is one of Canada’s first paperless referral solutions and allows Alberta Netcare users the ability to securely submit, track and manage referrals in real time. The eReferral is a key innovation in advancing health services, and will help to improve communications and consistency between care providers and their patients.

There are challenges, waste and barriers associated with manually sharing patient information throughout the referral process. The eReferral solution replaces traditional paper referrals with a computer system which enables providers to fill out standardized referral information which is instantaneously delivered to a specialist or care facility. At any time during the referral process the referral can be tracked and details viewed. eReferrals can be processed securely by multiple professionals, which in turn helps to reduce wait time.

The automated referral solution will increase the overall efficiency of referral submissions as it reduces the likelihood of lost, duplicated or incomplete forms. The Orion Health eReferral system uses a standardized template and checks the document for completeness before the form can be submitted. This ensures that healthcare facilities receive proper information about a patient and allows for improved patient safety.

More information on the eReferral solution, visit www.orionhealth.com.