July 25, 2022 – Intermountain Healthcare, DonorConnect, and InVita Healthcare Technologies announce the launch of iReferral interoperability in Utah and Idaho to streamline the critical first step in the organ, tissue and eye donation-transplantation process. iReferral automates the identification and referral of potential donors and helps to liberate hospital and donation resources while strengthening donation and transplant activity.
“Streamlining the donor referral process for the Intermountain teams gives our caregivers critical time back to spend more time with patients,” said Diane Alonso, MD, transplant surgeon and medical director of Intermountain Healthcare’s abdominal transplant program. “Collaborating and improving our workflow will also result in more donors, especially for those waiting for a critical life-saving donor organ.”
Utilizing targeted algorithmic clinical triggers and secure interoperability, iReferral eliminates the need for manual, phone-based referral processes. iReferral sends time-sensitive information from the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) system directly to the OPO’s iTransplant donation management system. OPO confirmation is immediate and automatically logged into the hospital’s EHR, helping to streamline regulatory compliance requirements, including those of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“DonorConnect is excited to embrace any tool that helps streamline the organ recovery and transplant process, and ensure positive outcomes for transplant recipients,” explained Tracy Schmidt, Executive Director and President of DonorConnect. “We’ve been eager to implement iReferral, and experience the improved efficiencies that the system will deliver.”
Following a successful pilot launch at Intermountain Medical Center in early 2022, iReferral has been launched across Intermountain Healthcare’s critical care units at Intermountain Medical Center and Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital, with plans to deploy to additional facilities and units later this year.
Wade Liu, Vice President of Product for InVita Healthcare Technologies’ Transplant division said, “iReferral represents a unique win and step forward for all involved in the donation-transplantation ecosystem. Hospitals can bolster compliance to federal requirements to refer potential donors. Nurses and providers can stay at the bedside and focus on patient care instead of telephonically regurgitating information that is already in the EHR. OPOs can automatically and reliably receive referrals that are critical to assess every possible donation opportunity. Families can be offered the opportunity to donate at the appropriate and right time. All of this helps maximize the gift of organ, tissue, and eye transplantation for the many currently in need.”