Edmundston Regional Hospital receives national recognition for managing its resources well
Edmundston, Wednesday, February 23, 2022 – Edmundston Regional Hospital was recently recognized as a level two hospital within Choosing Wisely, a national campaign to reduce unnecessary tests and treatments in hospitals.
Five hospitals have received this designation in Canada, and Edmundston Regional Hospital is the only one in the Atlantic provinces. “Once again, the Network’s leadership excellence is shining nationally. I congratulate the medical staff at Edmundston Regional Hospital for this recognition, which aligns perfectly with the directions and objectives of our 2020-2023 Strategic Plan,” said Dr. France Desrosiers, President and CEO of Vitalité Health Network.
Dr. Ihssan Bouhtiauy, Clinical Chief of Biochemistry at the Network, cannot deny his pride in the recognition garnered either. “I am very proud of this achievement, and I tip my hat to all our teams who work hard to optimize our resources,” he said. “When a conscious effort is made to eliminate the batteries of unnecessary tests and to limit exams and procedures to those necessary to diagnose the patient, everyone comes out a winner. Less time is wasted, and the health care system as a whole achieves significant financial savings,” added Dr. Bouhtiauy.
The Choosing Wisely campaign was launched nationwide in 2014. However, the work of Dr. Bouhtiauy and his team started long before that. “In the early 1990s, we identified a need to optimize our tests and procedures. Since then, all our actions have been based on best medical practices and guided by science. Tangibly, audits were performed regularly to determine the added value of certain medical tests, which led to the reduction and even elimination of some of them,” explained Dr. Bouhtiauy, citing a few examples. “The number of tests used for liver function saw a 50 to 83 percent decrease. Certain tests that were used in the diagnosis of heart attackes were replaced by a single, more accurate test.”
Although Edmundston Regional Hoapital is the only Network facility to earn a place within the Choosing Wisely campaign, Dr. Bouhtiauy affirms that great efforts to optimize resources are also being made within many other hospitals in the Francophone health authority. “We are working hard so that each hospital earns this recognition. However, it is a complex and extensive process that requires many hours of research to compile the data. Nevertheless, the effort is worth it, and I am confident that our recognition within Choosing Wisely is only just beginning,” he concluded.
