When it begins accepting patients in 2009, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton will not simply move from one hospital building to another. Rather, administrators wanted to re-examine all of its practices, from outpatient clinics to cardiac intensive care, aiming to improve workflow and outcomes while enhancing the patient experience.

With the support of Healthcare Consulting, Siemens helped the institute identify performance measures and examined existing and planned cardiology practices before introducing technological, structural, and, more importantly, cultural changes to the way care is delivered. Pagers allow outpatients freedom to move about and still not miss an appointment, bedside terminals enable bedside admitting and patient education, and a redesigned intensive care unit reduces the risk of infection while granting privacy to patients and their families.

The institute is home to an advanced heart research center and is at the core of a university campus known for its medical research achievements, as well as its adjoining children’s hospital. This proximity to leading researchers creates an environment that lends itself to collaboration and speeds the bench-to-bedside process. At the same time, the institute is one of only a few in North America that takes on adult and pediatric patients under one roof, a circumstance that requires new ways of thinking among health providers and disciplines.