A little over five years ago, Sunnybrook & Women’s College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto engaged in an IT strategic planning process to build Canada’s first clinical multimedia library. The goal was to combine the power and reach of the Internet with the expertise of one of Canada’s most prestigious healthcare facilities.
The healthcare centre’s Internet operation can now be declared a success. Sunnybrook & Women’s is now able to assist the medical and research communities in disseminating integrated video, voice, and data communications through a simple user interface that is accessible via any Web browser. It also offers a healthy dose of online content, from Webcasting major announcements to providing pre-recorded educational classes and professional development tutorials on-demand, accessible by staff whenever their busy schedules allow.
In less than a year, Sunnybrook & Women’s has gone from one rich media presentation a month to media-siting nearly five presentations a week. Clinicians who teach both at the centre and at other local affiliated institutions present the material to both physicians and nurses within the hospital network.
The hospital can also manage recordings within its new online Learning Management System, which tracks the progress of students and staff through both required and optional educational material.
Enabling the healthcare centre’s Internet initiatives is Mediasite technology from Sonic Foundry Inc, Madison, Wisconsin.