Mr. Dan Matlow reports

VITALHUB ANNOUNCES NOVARI HEALTH AI-ENHANCED REFERRAL MANAGEMENT DEPLOYMENT

Novari Health, a Vitalhub Corp. company, and Niagara Health are building upon an existing partnership by implementing Novari's medical imaging requisition management (MIRM) and e-request referral management technologies across the Niagara region.

Novari's MIRM and e-request technologies will be implemented at all of Niagara Health's sites, including Fort Erie Complex and Urgent Care Centre, Marotta Family Hospital, Niagara Falls Hospital, Port Colborne Complex and Urgent Care Centre, and Welland Hospital.

The Novari referral management and central intake technology will be deployed to more efficiently manage the receipt, processing, workflows and wait-list management associated with inpatient and outpatient community referrals for medical imaging modalities and ambulatory clinics such as urology, plastics, orthopedics and others. Central intake models have been proven to improve patient access to care and the efficiencies of health care organizations by centrally receiving, triaging and routing referrals to the most appropriate clinical setting, with the shortest wait time and as close to the patient's home as possible. The technology is being configured to accommodate unique workflows for each modality and eliminate risks and inefficiencies inherent in paper-based processes.

The Novari technology is being enhanced by Novari AI Transcription, a new artificial intelligence capability that improves referral accuracy and processing efficiency by prepopulating data fields, detecting multiple referrals within a single document and verifying patient information against existing records. The AI (artificial intelligence) feature is designed to help remove manual processes by automating the intake, extraction and processing of referral documents. As a result, staff who were previously manually transcribing referrals can be freed up to do higher-value work.

Novari technology also includes available AI-enhanced analytics that provide real-time data on patient wait times, helping organizations enhance resource utilization, identify workflow bottlenecks and improve operational efficiency.

The project involves tight integration with Niagara Health's Oracle Health (Cerner) electronic health record system. Novari technologies complement and integrate with many hospital information systems (for example, Epic, Meditech and Oracle Health), electronic medical record systems (for example, Accuro), PACSs (picture archiving and communication systems) (for example, AGFA, GE Healthcare and Philips) and others.

Health care systems around the world struggle with human health care resources shortages, aging populations and continuing financial pressures. To help offset these challenges, Novari Health provides state-of-the-art referral management, central intake and wait-list management solutions. These systems streamline the management of wait-lists for medical imaging, surgery, mental health, diabetes and other clinical services that have experienced unprecedented backlogs in recent years.

"Implementing Novari's referral management solutions is an important step in advancing Niagara Health's digital transformation strategy. By centralizing requisition intake, automating workflows and supporting standardized wait-list management, we are improving triage accuracy and communication -- ultimately strengthening our ability to deliver timely, co-ordinated care across all sites," said Sonali Kohli, executive vice-president, digital transformation, and chief information officer, Niagara Health.

"Over the last few years, Novari has played an important role in Niagara Health's successful digital modernization journey. This next step will transform the referral processes and improve access to care for patients in the Niagara region," said John Sinclair, president and chief executive officer of Novari Health.

About Novari Health

Novari Health, a Vitalhub company, delivers cloud-based, enterprise-scale, AI-enabled referral management, central intake (single point of access) and wait-list management software solutions that improve access to care whilst improving the efficiency and effectiveness of health care organizations. Leveraging HL7, FHIR, DICOM and other international standards, Novari Health's technologies complement and integrate with a wide variety of health care systems (for example, HIS (health information system), e-referral and PACS). Novari is one of the most trusted digital health solution providers. ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus certified, Novari Health is a Microsoft partner, with software solutions hosted on Microsoft Azure's global network of data centres.

About Vitalhub Corp.

Vitalhub is a leading software company dedicated to empowering health and human services providers globally. Vitalhub's comprehensive product suite includes electronic health records, operational intelligence and work force automation solutions that serve over 1,300 clients across the United Kingdom, Canada and other geographies. The company has a robust two-pronged growth strategy, targeting organic opportunities within its product suite and pursuing an aggressive M&A (merger and acquisition) plan. Vitalhub is headquartered in Toronto with over 700 employees globally, across key regions and the Vitalhub Innovations Lab in Sri Lanka.

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