Does it improve quality of care? I would say 'yes' most definitely. And the reason for that is - the information is now there.
Dr. Alan Hudak, Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital

Services Provided
by the eCHN Portal

The eCHN Portal collects information resulting from patients' interactions with the health care system and consolidates it into the form of a single medical record. This WebChart supplies such key domains of health information as: admission, discharge and transfer data; lab reports; clinic notes; consultant’s letters and surgical notes; X-ray images and reports. more ↓

The eCHN Portal contains information from multiple electronic information systems, as well as scanned clinical reports. New reports are displayed in real-time. eCHN's data repositories contain the records of more than 1,800,000 patients, from newborn to 19 years old, and almost 9 million patient encounters.

Authorized users have access to additional services, such as Patient e-Tracking which allows users to designate patients for special attention. Whenever new information about these patients enters the eCHN system, the users are notified by email - and when they log on, the new report is clearly flagged.

The eCHN Portal also offers more specialized applications, such as:
a) an electronic Shuttle Sheet for health professionals directly involved in the care of Paediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO) patients. b) Ambulatory e-Referral, currently being used to facilitate referrals of patients to SickKids.

A single sign-on provides access to all Portal services. close ↑

Watch Videos - How eCHN is Used at Specific Facilities ›

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Privacy

The personal health information of patients is treated with respect and the utmost confidentiality. eCHN is committed to protecting the privacy of patient information in accordance with Ontario's Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA) and operates with the highest level of security safeguards in place. eCHN data are encrypted and travel through a secure private network. more ↓

Only authorized health care professionals involved in a specific child’s “circle of care” can gain access to the patient’s chart and a rigorous audit system keeps track of who signs in and why. eCHN also takes steps to ensure that patient information is being used with the sole purpose of supporting the provision of health care to patients. Data posted on eCHN are not available to any government or private organization and are not used for research purposes.

PHIPA, 2004 defines patient consent as "implied consent", allowing health information custodians to share personal health information with each other. However, parents are free to revoke consent for the release of patient health information to eCHN from any member site. They may also revoke consent from any member site for access to the information that already exists in the eCHN repositories.
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View eCHN's Privacy Policy ›

The eCHN Portal

The eCHN Portal is a secure private electronic network that allows authorized health care providers across Ontario to access the latest medical information about patients instantly, from many different sources. Data are collected from dozens of disparate clinical systems located in health facilities around the province, and integrated into a single coherent record, a medical WebChart.

How to Become a Member › Learn More about eCHN's
Technical Achievement ›

Benefits of Using the eCHN Portal

Provides authorized health care professionals anywhere in the province with rapid access to up-to-date, accurate patient health information, any time of the day or night.

Allows health care providers to make more informed diagnosis and treatment decisions, even in emergency situations.

Reduces the need for repeat diagnostic testing of patients, such as blood tests and X-rays.

Reduces the need to rely on parents' memory for the details of patients' encounters with the health care system.

Facilitates follow-up care close to home, thereby reducing the need for patients to travel.

Helps make it possible to substantially improve the coordination of patient care, across the entire spectrum of health care delivery sites.

View More Benefits ›

It keeps patient care more organized, it transfers the information faster between Centres and between offices. It means that we're making the right decisions right up front and not delaying, when something needs to be done.
Dr. Patricia Colangelo, Rusholme Clinic

Who Uses the
eCHN Portal

Access to patients' personal health information via the eCHN Portal is available to the physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists and other health care professionals involved in the "circle of care" for a patient. eCHN member sites encompass 100 hospital sites around the province, including Tertiary Care Centres. more ↓

In addition, member sites include Community Care Access Centres, Children’s Treatment Centres, Community Health Centres, independent medical clinics, and the offices of individual paediatricians and family physicians. close ↑

View list of Member Sites >

eCHN Users' Reactions

eCHN users have expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the services the Portal provides. In a recent survey, 100% of respondents said they would recommend the use of eCHN to a non-user. In addition, 100% said they would support eCHN being expanded to become the electronic health record for the province's entire population.

Read Users' Comments ›

Watch Video Testimonials ›

The system is extremely useful and extremely necessary. It's potentially life-saving in the acute care setting.
Dr. Mark Feldman,
St. Joseph's Health Centre

How to Become a Member

For interested health care facilities and accredited health professionals, gaining access to the eCHN Portal is a very simple process. The eCHN team takes care of every detail, from providing and installing free software to offering training customized to the needs of individuals at a particular site. A help desk offers ongoing technical support to users. The system itself requires only basic computer skills and is extremely easy to learn and user-friendly.

The eCHN Portal is compatible with any of the clinical systems currently being used in hospitals and other health care facilities, and functions as a complement to existing methods of operation.

Health care professionals and health care facilities interested in obtaining access to the eCHN Portal should contact eCHN by phone at: 416-813-8807, toll-free at 877-252-9900, or by email echnmail@echn.ca

The program has been very easy to navigate - it's single click, double click. A very, very easy system to use... I use eCHN I would say pretty much every day. I find it saves a lot of legwork for me - and the convenience of it is outstanding!!
Nick Joachimides, RN, Bloorview Kids Rehab.

Services Provided by the eCHN Portal