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.
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
