Memorial Health System first in the State of Mississippi to Digitize and Streamline Organ and Tissue Donor Referrals to Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency

Rhea-AI Summary

Memorial Health System (MHS) has partnered with InVita Healthcare Technologies, Oracle Health, and the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) to digitize and streamline organ and tissue donor referrals in Mississippi. The collaboration launched the iReferral℠ platform at two MHS facilities on May 1, 2024. This technology allows clinical users of the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record system to electronically refer potential donors to MORA's iTransplant℠ system, replacing the manual telephonic process. The aim is to save time, enhance compliance with federal regulations, and improve patient care.

Seema Verma, Oracle Health's executive VP, emphasized the importance of automating donor referrals to save lives. The implementation is expected to maximize the impact on patients awaiting transplants, supported by MORA's Director of Hospital Development, Haratio Keys, and InVita's Chief Product Officer, Wade Liu.

Positive

• MHS's adoption of iReferral℠ streamlines the organ and tissue donation process, potentially increasing efficiency and saving lives.
• Automated referral process enhances compliance with CMS regulations.
• Partnership with leading tech firms Oracle Health and InVita aids in creating a connected health ecosystem.
• iReferral℠ reduces the time-intensive manual process, allowing healthcare providers to focus more on patient care.
• The new system is expected to maximize MORA’s impact on patients awaiting transplants.

Negative

• Initial implementation only at two MHS facilities, which may limit immediate widespread impact.
• No specific data provided on cost or potential financial burden of implementing iReferral℠.
• The press release does not specify measurable outcomes or timelines for performance improvement.

Insights

Healthcare Technology Analyst

The automation of the organ and tissue donor referral process using the iReferral℠ API signifies a major advancement in healthcare technology. By integrating Oracle Health's Electronic Health Record (EHR) system with InVita's iTransplant℠ System, Memorial Health System (MHS) enhances its operational efficiency while ensuring compliance with federal donation and transplantation regulations. This shift from a manual, telephonic process to an electronic one dramatically reduces the time and effort required, thus enabling healthcare providers to focus more on patient care.

For retail investors, such innovations in healthcare technology could indicate a positive trajectory for companies like Oracle Health and InVita Healthcare Technologies. The successful implementation of this system may inspire other health systems to follow suit, potentially expanding the market for these technological solutions. Moreover, the improved workflow could lead to better healthcare outcomes, indirectly boosting the reputation and reliability of the involved entities.

Medical Research Analyst

The collaboration between MHS, Oracle Health and InVita could be transformative for the organ and tissue donation ecosystem. By streamlining the referral process, iReferral℠ improves the chances of timely organ and tissue procurement, which is critical given the over 100,000 patients currently on the transplant list. The enhanced process could lead to increased donation rates, as delays and administrative burdens are minimized.

For investors, this development highlights the importance of innovation in the medical field not just for the direct stakeholders but for the broader healthcare community. Technologies that optimize essential processes such as organ donation are likely to gain traction, attracting further investments and partnerships.

Oracle Health and InVita Healthcare Technologies' iReferral^℠ API enables a secure electronic hospital-to-OPO referral process.

GULFPORT, Miss., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Memorial Health System (MHS) partnered with InVita Healthcare Technologies (InVita), Oracle Health, and Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA), the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) serving most of the state of Mississippi, to automate and enhance the organ and tissue donation process. The collaboration launched the healthcare interoperability platform iReferral^℠ at two MHS facilities on May 1, 2024.

iReferral^℠ allows clinical users of the Oracle Health Electronic Health Record system to electronically refer patients who are potential organ and/or tissue donors to InVita's iTransplant^℠ System utilized by MORA. iReferral^℠ replaces the prior time-intensive and manual telephonic donor referral process and allows the MHS providers and nurses to focus more time on clinical care while improving compliance with federal requirements regarding donation and transplantation.

"Through our pioneering collaboration with InVita Healthcare Technologies, Oracle Health, and the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, Memorial is proud to lead the way in revolutionizing the organ and tissue donation process in Mississippi," said Memorial Health System Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Mary Brobst, MSN, RN. "With the launch of iReferral^℠, we're not just streamlining operations; we're honoring the gift of life, ensuring every opportunity for patients to become donors while allowing our dedicated healthcare professionals to focus on what truly matters – delivering exceptional care."

"When it comes to organ donation, every second counts, yet the process has remained unnecessarily cumbersome and time intensive," said Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences and former administrator to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. "Together with Memorial Health System and InVita, we are automating and accelerating donor referrals to help save lives with a secure, open, and connected health ecosystem that empowers teams to provide the best care for their patients."

With more than 100,000 patients on the nation's transplant list awaiting a life-saving organ, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations mandate hospitals refer all potential organ and tissue donors to their federally designated OPO. With each donor having the ability to save up to eight (8) lives through organ transplantation and enhance over seventy-five (75) or more through tissue donation, every donation opportunity and donor referral is of critical importance.     

"We are excited to be working with Memorial to roll out the first iReferral^℠ launch in our service area. We believe this will be a great asset in its ability to ease the burden on our healthcare providers while allowing MORA to maximize its impact on those waiting on a lifesaving transplant," said Haratio Keys, Director of Hospital Development for MORA.

"Congratulations to our partners at MORA and to Memorial Health on being first in the State," said Wade Liu, Chief Product Officer of InVita Healthcare Technologies. "We are proud to support the critical work of donation and transplantation through the implementation of iReferral^℠ to ensure every family has the opportunity to donate and save lives."

About MHS | wearememorial.com
Memorial Health System has been serving the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1946. Located in Gulfport, Mississippi, Memorial is a not-for-profit medical complex jointly owned by the City of Gulfport and Harrison County. Memorial includes two hospitals licensed for 328 beds, a state-designated Level II Trauma Center, two nursing centers, four outpatient surgery centers, satellite outpatient diagnostic and rehabilitation centers, and more than 100 Memorial Physician Clinics. Memorial offers several of the region's most comprehensive clinical programs and medical specialties unique to the area, including the Coast's only Level III Neonatal ICU and Mississippi's first nationally-certified Primary Stroke Center. Visit wearememorial.com to learn more.

About MORA | msora.org
Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency (MORA) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to save and improve lives through the gift of organ, eye, and tissue donation. At present, approximately 1,300 Mississippians and 100,000+ Americans need an organ transplant to survive. A new patient is added to the national transplant waiting list every 8 minutes and an average of 16 people die each day awaiting a lifesaving transplant that never comes. One organ donor can save eight lives and one tissue donor can save or improve the lives of 75 recipients or more. Registering as an organ, eye, and tissue donor can be done online in less than two minutes at www.RegisterMe.org.

About Oracle | oracle.com/health
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle, Java, MySQL and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company--ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

About InVita Healthcare Technologies | invitahealth.com
InVita provides mission-critical and chain-of-custody software technologies for complex medical, forensic, and community care environments. InVita's solutions streamline clinical workflows, optimize supply chains, sample tracking, and visibility across donation and transplantation, blood and plasma operations, the tissue and implant lifecycle, and environments spanning DNA and forensics. InVita continues to expand the iReferral^℠ and iTransplant^℠ platforms supporting nearly 75% of all OPOs in the United States and used by more than 15,000 medical professionals across more than 100 organ, tissue, eye, and birth tissue organizations around the world. 

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SOURCE InVita Healthcare Technologies

FAQ

What is the purpose of the partnership between Memorial Health System and Oracle Health?

The partnership aims to digitize and streamline organ and tissue donor referrals using the iReferral℠ platform.

When was the iReferral℠ platform launched at Memorial Health System?

The iReferral℠ platform was launched on May 1, 2024, at two MHS facilities.

How does iReferral℠ improve the donor referral process?

iReferral℠ replaces the manual telephonic process with an electronic system, saving time and enhancing compliance with federal regulations.

Who are the key partners involved in this initiative?

Memorial Health System, Oracle Health, InVita Healthcare Technologies, and the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency are the key partners.

What is the benefit of using iReferral℠ for Memorial Health System?

Using iReferral℠ allows MHS to streamline the donation process, improve compliance, and enable healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care.