The West Virginia University Health System (WVU Medicine) partnered with InVita Healthcare Technologies (InVita), and Lifeline of Ohio (LOOP), the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) serving central and southeast Ohio as well as Wood and Hancock counties in West Virginia, to successfully launch iReferral® to improve the critical first step in the organ and tissue donation and transplantation process.
iReferral is advanced interoperability technology that provides healthcare facilities across the country the opportunity to replace the time consuming, inefficient, manual telephonic process of donor notification to their federally designated OPO with automated identification of potential organ and tissue donors and secure electronic delivery to iTransplant®, the OPO’s electronic donor management system.
“Streamlining the organ donation process has the potential to impact the lives of many patients waiting for an organ transplant across our region and the U.S.,” Michael Shullo, Pharm.D., Vice President of the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance, said.
As the third successful hospital iReferral implementation for Lifeline of Ohio, WVU Medicine launched iReferral for their Camden Clark and Barnesville Hospital campuses in late February and early March, respectively, to replace the telephonic process, improving regulatory compliance to federal mandates.
“We’re very pleased to join with one of our partnering hospitals, West Virgina University Health System, and InVita Healthcare Technologies in this innovative process of streamlining the organ and tissue donation referral process,” said Andrew Mullins, Chief Executive Officer of Lifeline of Ohio. “Through this collaboration, more lives will be saved and healed thanks to the generosity of donors and their families.”
Based on established clinical criteria, iReferral integrates WVU Medicine’s electronic health record system with Lifeline of Ohio’s iTransplant System, allowing the OPO to receive the timely potential organ and tissue donor referral. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) regulations mandate hospitals refer all potential organ and tissue donors to their federally designated OPO. With each donor having the ability to save up to eight lives through organ transplantation and enhance over 75 more through tissue donation, iReferral maximizes opportunities for families to save lives through the gift of donation for the more than 100,000 patients on the nation’s transplant waitlist awaiting a life-saving organ.
“Congratulations to the West Virginia University Health System and Lifeline of Ohio for this key launch and step forward,” said Wade Liu, Chief Product Officer and General Manager of InVita Healthcare Technologies’ Donation and Transplant Division. “Every donation opportunity is of critical importance. We’re proud to partner and provide innovative technological solutions that help maximize the gift of life for the many waiting for a life-saving transplant.”
About the WVU Health System | wvumedicine.org
The West Virginia University Health System is West Virginia’s largest health system and the state’s largest employer with more than 3,000 licensed beds, 4,000 providers, approximately 30,000 employees, and more than $5 billion in total operating revenues. The Health System is comprised of 24 hospitals – including J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, a 700-bed academic medical center, and the 150-bed WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia – and five institutes. To learn more, visit WVUMedicine.org.
About Lifeline of Ohio | lifelineofohio.org
Founded in 1984, Lifeline of Ohio is an independent, non-profit organization, that promotes and coordinates the donation of human organs and tissue for transplantation. Lifeline of Ohio serves 97 hospitals and facilities in 38 counties in Ohio and two in West Virginia and is designated as an organ procurement organization through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
About InVita Healthcare Technologies | invitahealth.com
InVita provides mission-critical and chain-of-custody software technologies for complex medical, forensic, and community care environments. InVita’s solutions streamline clinical workflows, optimize supply chains, sample tracking, and visibility across donation and transplantation, blood and plasma operations, the tissue and implant lifecycle, and environments spanning DNA and forensics. InVita continues to expand the iReferral® and iTransplant® platforms supporting nearly 75% of all OPOs in the United States and used by more than 15,000 medical professionals across more than 100 organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue organizations around the world.
