by Sara Elhawash
In the nuanced landscape of patient care, unlocking valuable insights is dependent on navigating the vast realms of data. However, what if the data is neither easily accessible nor user-friendly? That is where the expertise of the Data Sciences Institute’s (DSI) software development support team becomes essential. The DSI team developed a new user-friendly web portal to seamlessly and securely distribute individualized healthcare quality reports for the General Medicine Quality Improvement Network (GeMQIN), a program of Ontario Health. These reports are developed by the GEMINI team, based at St. Michael’s Hospital (a site of Unity Health Toronto).
Recognized for its deployment of a data and analytics platform, GEMINI harnesses information from hospital computer records, playing a vital role in generating insights to improve healthcare delivery. Holding data from over 30 Ontario hospitals, the project is Canada’s largest hospital data sharing network for research and analytics.
DSI’s software development program provides faculty and scientists access to skilled developers who refine existing software tools to enhance usability, robustness and functionality.
“The DSI software support provided web development capacity and skillset that greatly expedited our timeline in achieving this major project deliverable. We are excited to launch this new GEMINI portal in the coming months for GeMQIN and look forward to a much more streamlined process of delivering healthcare quality reports,” says Denise Mak, Director of Data Science & Innovation, GEMINI.
A screenshot capture of the GEMINI portal homepage.
The GEMINI portal, currently in its final stage of user testing, is streamlining distribution to 700+ report recipients, avoiding problems such as lost emails and spam filters. The portal aims to provide authorized users with easy and secure access to their confidential and personalized quality reports while reducing the report distribution workload for the GEMINI team.
The work completed by DSI sets the groundwork for many future expansion plans that include supporting other quality reporting programs, building custom dashboards for machine learning projects, and adding business intelligence tools to explore GEMINI data for research projects. .
“We’ve helped streamline and automate their workflow. The portal allows the GEMINI team to easily manage their users, upload reports, and access administrative controls, creating a more efficient and user-friendly experience,” says Wisam Al Abed, Senior Software Developer, DSI.
The successful collaborative efforts between DSI and GEMINI demonstrate that data isn’t just a tool — it’s a catalyst that supports researchers in making tangible differences, helping hospitals respond effectively to the dynamic needs of a growing population.