ALBANY,
N.Y., Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Albany Med Health System, together with InVita Healthcare
Technologies (InVita), ConnectLife, and Center for Donation and
Transplant (CDT), the federally designated OPO serving upstate
New York and western Vermont, have united to successfully implement
technology to streamline the organ and tissue donation process at
Albany Medical Center.
This advanced technology allows our medical
staff to focus their efforts on caring for patients.
iReferral® is advanced interoperability technology
that allows the hospital's electronic medical record (EMR)
platform, Epic, to deliver direct and secure electronic
notification of patients who have met criteria for organ and tissue
donation to its OPO's EMR System, iTransplant®, provided
by InVita.
With more than 100,000 individuals awaiting a life-saving organ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations
mandate hospitals refer all potential organ and tissue donors to
their federally designated OPO. iReferral directly improves
regulatory compliance to these federal mandates that are in place
to provide hope to those waiting for a life-saving organ and/or
tissue transplant.
Modernization of this initial critical step in the organ and
tissue transplantation process eliminates the previous extra step
of telephonic notification and streamlines workflows, allowing
nurses and providers to focus more time on bedside to care for
their critically ill patients and support family members.
"This advanced technology allows our medical staff to focus
their efforts on caring for patients and supporting their patients'
loved ones during a critical time and ensures that families are
granted the opportunity to make the decision to give the gift of
life through organ and tissue donation when appropriate," said
Jason Mouzakes, MD, executive vice
president and hospital general director at Albany Medical
Center.
The Albany Med Health System implemented this electronic
referral delivery at Albany Medical Center as part of a larger
project to launch a new, unified EMR system across its four
hospitals. Saratoga Hospital, Gens Falls Hospital, and Columbia
Memorial Health will participate after their successful launch of
Epic later this year. This real-time and secure electronic
interface providing timely notification to the OPO ensures that all
families are given the opportunity for their loved one to save the
lives of others through organ and tissue donation.
"ConnectLife is proud of the innovative partnership it has with
both InVita and CDT as they continue efforts to improve the
referral process in the Albany
region. As a result, the referral center is able to work
efficiently to evaluate each referral for donation potential, and
spend less time on call center related tasks such as call handling
and referral data entry," said Kayla
Giancarlo, Director of Clinical Analytics and Referral
Services.
With Albany Medical Center as their second successful iReferral
launch, CDT continues to champion this innovative technology
offering donation to more families and saving more lives.
"CDT is privileged to partner with InVita and the Albany Med
Health System on such a transformational initiative," said
Andrew Sigond, Director of Hospital
& Community Services at the Center for Donation and Transplant.
"Through automating the referral process and furthering the
opportunities families have to give the gift of life, we can
provide new hope to the 100,000 Americans awaiting a life-saving
transplant."
"As hundreds of hospitals across the country continue to partner
with their OPOs to adopt this advanced technology, the outcomes are
tremendous," said Wade Liu, Chief
Product Officer and General Manager, InVita, Donation and
Transplant Division. "With each implementation more families have
been offered the opportunity for their loved ones to leave a
lasting legacy through organ and tissue donation, and as a result
more lives are saved through transplantation."
About the Albany Med Health
System: albanymed.org
About Center for Donation and
Transplant: cdtnyvt.org
About ConnectLife: connectlife.org
About InVita Healthcare
Technologies: invitahealth.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/invita-healthcare-technologies-albany-med-health-system-the-center-for-donation-and-transplant-and-connectlife-partner-to-streamline-organ-and-tissue-donation-referral-process-302250635.html
SOURCE InVita Healthcare Technologies