WRHN’s Partnership with MMC Brings Innovative Cardiac Care Closer to Home

With cardiac treatments becoming more sophisticated over the last decade, patients must typically travel to major cardiac centres to receive specialized care, adding to the burden of recovery for those who live in outlying regions.

To service its fast-growing catchment area, the Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) partnered with Mohawk Medbuy (MMC) on a value-based procurement process to facilitate access to innovative treatments that help increase capacity and reduce complications.

WRHN services a large region – from the southern tip of Norfolk County to the top of the Bruce Peninsula. When requiring specialized cardiac care, some patients in rural areas would typically be referred to London or Toronto – increasing their travel to obtain treatment. Thanks to the multi-faceted agreement developed with MMC, cardiac patients in this region are able to obtain treatment closer to home at WRHN.

The outcome-based procurement resulted in an agreement that offers unique flexibility to WRHN. For example, auxiliary benefits, such as reducing average length of stay in hospital or reducing complication rates, can offset the increased upfront cost of a new device.

“We see ongoing improvements in the continuity of care we can deliver as a result of the cardiac procurement we did with MMC,” said Dr. Ala Qahwash, Director of the Cardiac Program and Critical Care at WRHN. “The collaboration has allowed us to be more versatile with our treatment options for cardiac patients, enabling us to improve patient outcomes.”

 A recent innovation highlighting this agreement is a unique extra-vascular implantable cardioverter defibrillator (EV-ICD) from Medtronic. ICDs are indicated for the treatment of dangerously fast heart rhythm that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. WRHN is among the first wave of Ontario hospitals to use this state-of-the-art cardiac device, designed to be less invasive than conventional ICDs.

“It’s very gratifying to know that patients are being treated with innovative products closer to home,” said Ally Dhalla, Senior Vice President, Pharmacy, Innovation, Government and Clinical Services at Mohawk Medbuy. “Getting the right treatment, where and when you need it is fundamental to MMC’s commitment to helping our Member hospitals raise the standard of patient care.”