Ontario Shores Becomes First Hospital System in Canada to Earn Three Stage 7 Validations

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) has become the first mental health hospital in the world, and the first hospital in Canada, to receive three Stage 7 achievements on HIMSS Maturity Models. 

Ontario Shores has revalidated and achieved Stage 7 status on the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM); the Outpatient Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (O-EMRAM); and the Adoption Model for Analytics Maturity (AMAM). 

During the two-day validation process, HIMSS noted several innovations at Ontario Shores, recognizing outstanding work in the system’s case studies, the prevalent use of data throughout the organization, and the great work performed by staff. Areas of focus included the patient portal, suicide prevention strategy and measurement-based care. 

“Ontario Shores’ innovative use of technology is a shining example of bridging the gap between mental health care and digital possibilities,” said Julius Bogdan, Vice President, Analytics – North America, at HIMSS. “Their forward-thinking approach is transforming the landscape of mental health support and offering hope to countless individuals.” 

Ontario Shores first achieved Stage 7 validation in 2014, when it became the first hospital in Canada and the first mental health hospital in the world to achieve EMRAM Stage 7.  Ontario Shores was the first hospital in Canada to receive revalidation in 2017 and 2020. In 2021, Ontario Shores achieved Stage 6 for AMAM and has been working toward Stage 7 since then.    

“These Stage 7 achievements represent our commitment to optimize the use of data and technology to advance the quality of care,” said Karim Mamdani, President and CEO, Ontario Shores. “We have tremendously dedicated teams who worked tirelessly to embed technological advancements and advanced analytics to directly improve patient care”  

The HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) measures clinical outcomes, patient engagement and clinician use of EMR technology to strengthen organizational performance and health outcomes across patient populations. 

The Outpatient Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (O-EMRAM) assesses maturity of EMR technology in outpatient facilities and its impact on patients served, overall population health and health system operational efficiency with a focus on quality of care, patient safety and cost reduction.  

The HIMSS Adoption Model for Analytics Maturity (AMAM) measures the analytics capabilities that healthcare organizations have gained from having a strong analytics strategy and competency and advances an organization’s healthcare analytics regardless of the technologies installed.