TORONTO -- The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has implemented Microdea Inc.'s Synergize software to get one step closer to its goal of paperless, electronic patient records.

Converting patient charts to electronic media can also require the fast digitization and integration of paper notes from the present. The Synergize product will allow Sick Kids to quickly store, share and access electronic patient charts, offering a way to get started on an electronic health record (EHR).

While many hospitals have the ability to scan paper documents, the process is time-consuming, and newly scanned material must be further synchronized with the existing digital data. The Synergize system is said to mesh the two phases.

Synergize will allow the hospital varying forms of chart security, including the ability to audit users to ensure they are looking only at the records they should be. Officials say the electronic charting system will be far more secure than the generally unquestioned methods of the past and present.

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