Lakeridge Health has reached the highest level of a major international electronic medical record adoption model, marking another digital-health milestone for hospitals and health-care services across Durham Region.
The Lakeridge Health Stage 7 designation comes from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model, commonly known as HIMSS EMRAM.
Stage 7 is the highest level in the model and recognizes health organizations that make advanced use of electronic medical records, analytics and digital clinical workflows to support patient safety, quality of care and better coordination between care teams.
Lakeridge Health joins a select group of Canadian hospital systems to achieve the distinction.
Stage 7 evaluates how technology is used in patient care
The recognition goes beyond simply having electronic patient records.
Lakeridge Health underwent an assessment examining how digital technology is being used throughout its health system.
Areas reviewed included electronic medical records, clinical workflows, information sharing, data analytics, medication safety, clinical decision support and the use of health information technology to improve patient outcomes.
Dr. Ilan Lenga, Lakeridge Health’s chief information officer, said the designation recognizes both the technology available to the organization and how clinicians and care teams use those systems.
For patients, Lakeridge says the technology is intended to make information more accessible, reduce unnecessary duplication, improve medication safety and help different departments and care settings coordinate treatment.
Digital tools used across Lakeridge Health
Several technologies form part of Lakeridge Health’s increasingly digital approach to patient care.
Bar Code Medication Administration is used to support medication safety by helping care teams verify medications during administration.
Diagnostic imaging is integrated through Sectra One Cloud, while the MyChart Central East Ontario patient portal gives patients digital access to parts of their health information.
Lakeridge also continues to optimize Epic, the clinical information system used to manage health records and clinical workflows.
Together, those systems are designed to make relevant information available to health-care professionals when they are making treatment decisions.
Lakeridge previously reached Stage 6
The Stage 7 achievement builds on Lakeridge Health’s previous HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6 certification.
At Stage 6, the organization had already demonstrated advanced use of electronic records, clinical decision-support systems and data sharing.
Lakeridge had identified Stage 7 as its next digital-health objective.
The latest validation confirms that the health system has now reached the highest stage available under the HIMSS EMRAM framework.
What Stage 7 means for Durham patients
Lakeridge Health operates hospitals and other health services throughout Durham Region, meaning its digital systems support care delivered across several communities rather than at a single hospital.
The health network includes hospitals in Oshawa, Bowmanville, Ajax-Pickering and Port Perry, along with additional health-care and community locations serving Durham residents.
Emergency physician Dr. Larry Nijmeh said effective digital technology can support clinical decisions, improve operations, strengthen patient safety and improve coordination of care.
The goal is to give providers more complete and accessible information while reducing unnecessary repetition within the health-care system.
Recognition supports broader digital-health strategy
The Lakeridge Health Stage 7 designation also aligns with the organization’s broader focus on technology and innovation.
Its 2026-2031 strategic plan identifies innovation and technology for better care as one of its major priorities as Durham Region continues to grow.
Stage 7 does not mean development of Lakeridge’s digital systems is complete.
Instead, the recognition establishes that the organization has met the highest level of the HIMSS electronic medical record adoption framework while continuing to develop technology intended to make health care safer, more connected and more efficient for Durham Region patients.
