It sounds a little dry – the South West LHIN Program and Services Inventory. But the reality is an exciting step forward for thehealthline.ca
thehealthline.ca Information Network is partnering with the South West LHIN to expand the existing database to include more detailed information on health services providers in the region. The resulting database will provide high-quality information for patients, health care providers, and health system planners.
“The South West LHIN’s Integrated Health Service Plan identifies the need for a ‘tool that enables for multi-level system navigation,’” notes LHIN Senior Director of Planning, Integration and Community Engagement Kelly Gillis. “That’s what the thehealthline.ca is. It’s a proven solution that attracts more than a million people a year. This project takes it to the next level.”
Before this project, thehealthline.ca had a listing for each provider across the South West. In the first phase of the project, all of the services offered by providers across the region were identified and added to the database. In total, more than 2,700 service listings were added, almost doubling the total number of profile/organization records. By 2012 it’s expected that there will be close to 10,000 records on thehealthline.ca.
Most of the growth came as a result of splitting up current records to provide more detail about specific services. For example, Meals on Wheels London had one service profile record on thehealthline.ca until recently. Now it is broken down into five records, one for the main organization and one each for standard meal service, the frozen meal service, the “Out for Lunch Bunch,” and transportation services.
Things get even more interesting in the second phase of the project. That’s when thehealthline.ca will be re-designed to help both consumers and experts find the information they need. In addition to the extra listings, there will be several changes:
- A specialized interface for providers, giving them access to additional information
- A specialized interface for healthcare leaders, giving them access to additional information to support system-wide planning
- Easier importing and exporting of data, making data sharing easier
- A postal code search that allows users to search for services by location and/or by topics
- A sidebar menu for service profiles, providing links to additional information about the organization, job listings, news and events
- Better linking among related services
- Ongoing (at least annual) updating of listings
“This project will lay the foundation for a powerful integrated health service information system, capable of adapting and scaling up to meet service provider and LHIN needs,” says Gillis. “People will have access to more information about how to find services, providers will have more information to guide their clients and make better referrals, and planning staff will have more information about the services available in the LHIN.”
The next step will be a series of webinars for health service providers, explaining progress on the PSI project, showing them how to update their service profiles, and introducing them to the new features of the site. “thehealthline.ca is there to serve the organizations it lists,” says Lisa Misurak, Manager of thehealthline.ca. “We want to involve them as we move forward and ensure that they’re benefiting from the changes.”
Sandra Coleman, CEO of the South West CCAC and Chair of the Board of Directors of thehealthline.ca Information Network says thehealthline.ca has come a long way since it was first launched in 2002. “We’re delighted that its value has been recognized and is being leveraged by the LHIN,” she says.
Coleman adds that thehealthline.ca has also been selected by the Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres and the 14 CCACs as the provincial model for health services information. “We’re proud of the valuable service thehealthline.ca has become,” she says. “This is the culmination of a lot of hard work and creativity.”