Clinical View

Clinical View is defined as the ability to view different types of health information (e.g. registration information, lab results, dispensed medications, transcribed documents) and to allow the recording of health information relating to a patient using a single-method of access within a health region. In other words, this information will be available in one place, on one viewer.

The clinical view system, known as Sunrise Clinical Manager (SCM), enables more effective communication between care providers. With SCM, all authorized care providers within the circle of care for a particular patient (e.g. the attending physician, admitting physician, referring physician, consulting physician, nurse unit manager, ward nurse) can securely share information. In the future, the system will also enable clinicians to electronically place orders and prescribe medication/care plans.

SCM provides virtually instant access to lab results done within the hospital lab: most importantly all blood work. The way lab result information is displayed within SCM allows authorized care providers to trend lab results graphically over time, as well as being visually alerted when there is an abnormal lab result.

In the past, paper charts had to be manually perused and new information located and filed. SCM provides access to documentation immediately upon completion of transcribing the document. The types of documents available for viewing by authorized care providers include: history and physicals, discharge summaries, consultations, operating room reports and pathology reports. All access to the documentation is electronically audited.

SCM provides a concise and complete visit history for a patient. This information was not available in the manual chart.

Every care provider has the ability to customize SCM patient lists to meet their specific needs around which patients and what patient information is most valuable to them. These lists are dynamically updated. For example, if a care provider wishes to see all of their patients on ward "B", the patient list will be updated as patients are admitted and discharged from this ward.

Sunrise (Yorkton) Health Region implemented the clinical view application Sunrise Clinical Manager in 2005-06, to be followed by enhancements to the data entry and reporting capabilities, remote access from clinician offices and the integration of hospital pharmacy information. SCM is used by over 200 staff in the Yorkton Health Region. Planning is underway for the expansion of SCM into other health regions.