MUHC: CIBC donates $1M to support the future of patient-centered care at the MUHC

MONTREAL, June 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navigating the health care system can be overwhelming. An innovative app improving the patient experience at the MUHC is expanding thanks to a $1 million gift from CIBC to the MUHC Foundation. Created by the Opal Health Informatics Group - a passionate group of patients, clinicians, researchers, and students at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC), the Opal app provides patients access to their hospital appointments, laboratory test results, some clinical notes written by their doctors, and educational material about their illness and treatments. The result is a more empowered experience for patients-with their health information at their fingertips, they feel in control of their journey. "It is deeply satisfying for our healthcare professionals at the McGill University Health Centre to co-create projects with patients that improve the patient experience. Opal is a product of this vital collaboration and I look forward to seeing it evolve." - Dr. Pierre Gfeller, President and Executive Director, MUHC Opal was created when the late Laurie Hendren, a Professor of Computer Science at McGill University and breast cancer patient, teamed up with her radiation oncologist, Dr. Tarek Hijal, and with medical physicist and cancer researcher Dr. John Kildea to empower patients during their care and improve their experience. Currently, Opal is used by cancer patients at the MUHC, as well as by patients with inflammatory bowel disease and HIV, and the parents of children with kidney disease. "Laurie was the driving force behind the app. She understood how difficult it can be to keep track of dozens of appointments and the need for patients to access their own personal health information while dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis." - Dr. Tarek Hijal, Chief of Radiation Oncology at the MUHC, Clinical Lead of the Quebec SmartCare Consortium and Opal Co-Creator With CIBC's support, Opal will be expanded to enhance patient care and research as the centrepiece of an innovative new project known as the Quebec SmartCare Consortium (quebecsmartcare.com). As the project progresses, participating physicians will be able to monitor their patients between appointments using wearable devices that track vital signs. Remote monitoring will provide physicians a steady stream of data to help them better understand each patient's condition. It will also ...Full story available on Benzinga.com