Who will win the category? Attend the Digital Transformation Conference and Awards on Aug. 8 and find out.
Canada Health Infoway (PrescribeIT)
Funded by the federal government, the Canada Health Infoway has been working hard to digitize a healthcare sector that produces the most paper trails: the pharmacy.
Canadians are undoubtedly familiar with needing a stack of paper to receive prescription drugs. In environmental scan conducted by PwC for infoway in 2015, Canada is among a few developed countries without an electronic prescribing system. Lacking a digitally managed system compounds critical healthcare issues including opioid crisis, prescription forgery and fraud, complicates medication adherence, and outdated communication methods between prescriber and pharmacist.
Canada Health Infoway’s solution is PrescribeIT, a not-for-profit, singular e-prescription solution designed to replace paper prescriptions. Fully compliant with digital security standards, PrescribeIT is safe from commercial use.
PrescribeIT was conceived with a small team of five. Today, more than 30 multi-disciplinary professionals are working to refine the system. Since its launch in August 2018, PrescribeIT has been deployed in 111 communities across three provinces, 1,073 pharmacy sites, and is serving 1,299 active subscribers.
Innovation Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan’s Innovation Revolution
In 2016, Innovation Saskatchewan (an arms-length government agency) made supporting the technology community in Saskatchewan one of their priority areas. A new transformation strategy was needed to boost Saskatchewan’s image as a rising star in Canada’s tech scene.
Through consultation with the industry, the leadership team identified that not only did the community need further funding and support programs, they also needed a digital platform to inform the public about the innovative companies growing in the province.
It was no small feat to move from an organization with a generic website and no social media to a digital leader in the province. The team developed a plan to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Slack and Email marketing to start the “The Innovation Revolution” campaign. The plan included strategies to engage the organization, staff, partners, tech companies and the media.
Saskatchewan has a strong ecosystem to support tech entrepreneurs and the community worked together to share success stories from the revamped Innovation Saskatchewan website. Through many initiatives and the grit of their dedicated entrepreneurs, Saskatoon is now the second-fastest growing tech sector in Canada. The “Innovation Revolution” campaign is providing the content to loudly share this success.
Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre Society
Digital transformation can be especially challenging for needs shelters. Often underfunded, these agencies lack the digital assets to properly track its visitors and manage resources.
Drop in Calgary (DI) was one such case. Before Helen Knight helmed the association, only 70 of the 270 staff members had email addresses. Exaggerating the problem were the dated, donated computers, forcing the organization to invest thousands of hours into manually managing an Access database. The system was in disarray, and in turn, the stress rippled down to the 1,400 people it needed to serve daily.
Knight, with ample experience as an IT executive, immediately set out to alleviate these pain points after chairing her leadership role. After proving a return on investment of $2 million annually, Knight quickly replaced non-functioning equipment and provided everyone with an email address. She also launched a sharepoint site, which held entertainment and learning resources for visitors and staff. Most importantly, she and her team performed a full analysis of the agency’s systems and removed any outdated or non-critical modules.
Since shifting to a better system, the agency has been functioning as a more cohesive, more efficient unit. Its digital transformation strategy has returned 20 hours per week to staff members. In addition, the front-line leadership team has reaped back 1,460 hours annually.
Toronto Rehab Institute (TRI)
Canada’s population is rapidly aging. By 2030, one fourth of the Canadian population will consist of seniors. And yet, according to the Canadian Commonwealth Fund’s annual International Health Policy Survey, only 67 per cent of Canadians older than 65 are satisfied with the quality of their health care.
The issue is complex and multifaceted, but the Toronto Rehab Institute (TRI) is working to address home care, a high-impact area for aging seniors. To improve the quality of care for seniors at home, TRI has created a partnership program called Accelerate Technologies for Homecare (PATH), which draws upon talents from various academic institutes and businesses to create homecare solutions from research to commercialization.
Researchers will be able to develop and test using infrastructures and APIs provided by the SmartONE smart community company. With a significant community presence, SmartONE can help researchers test their product in actual communities and real-world use cases. Once they garner enough interest and prove their efficacy, the designs will be brought to commercialization based on demand.
Currently, SmartONE’s portfolio includes software for security, amenities, and building management.
Humber College
Humber College is a polytechnic institution with three campuses in Toronto, combining theoretical learning with applied experience to more than 33,000 full-time students in more than 180 programs. Similar to other colleges and universities, Humber offered its curriculum through eight academic schools siloed disciplines; technology was used to present course materials, but wasn’t widely used for interactive activities. Student success was measured with grades and completion rates.
In response, Humber built the 93,000-square-foot Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation (Barrett CTI). The Barrett CTI is an open concept, modular building, without traditional classrooms or laboratories.
Its Transformation Zone is a state-of-the-art hub for tech-driven projects and a playground for industry. A dedicated Cisco network throughout the facility and Webex smartboard solutions allow for increased communication and collaboration among students, faculty and industry partners.