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A Decade of Innovation and Impact
The Opal Health Informatics Group is delighted to release its 10-year impact report that shows how Opal has empowered patients and saved costs in Quebec's healthcare system!
Prepared with the input of more than 1,500 patients at the MUHC and containing verbatim statements from almost 200 Opal users, this report highlights why patient-in-the-loop data should be the standard in Quebec—and everywhere!
Soon to be released as an open-source platform, Opal will be available to empower patients, clinicians, and researchers worldwide!
Manage
Your hospital visits.
Opal’s calendar lets you see all your upcoming and past appointments in one place.
Using Opal you can check in for your appointments when you arrive at the hospital and receive an alert on your phone when your medical practitioner is ready to see you.
Opal notifications ensure that you are always up to date with your medical information.
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Monitor
Your medical information.
View your key clinical notes and print or share them with your family members or other medical professionals
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APPOINTMENTS
View your appointment schedule. Check in and receive a notification to be called in for your appointment without waiting in the waiting room
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LAB RESULTS
View your test results, see how they change over time and learn what they mean
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Receive notifications when there is new information in your chart and when your medical team sends you a message
NOTIFICATIONS
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CLINICAL NOTES
Learn
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About your medical condition and treatment.
Opal provides you with educational materials tailored to your diagnosis and treatment that is delivered when you need it.
MULTIMEDIA
Access booklets, factsheets, and videos sent to you by your treating team.
INTEGRATED
All test results and clinical notes are tagged with explanatory educational material.
PERSONAL
Your educational material is tailored to your diagnosis and phase of treatment.
HOSPITAL INFORMATION
Access parking information, maps, and general hospital information.
Engage
In your care.
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It is important that you play an active role in your care.
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Your medical team may send you official questionnaires about your health status. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions.
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You may also record your own symptoms or side effects at any time and share them with your treating team during your next visit. By recording your experiences you can help your treating team better understand how your condition and your treatment are affecting you.
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Opal Health Informatics Group
Opal’s development and operations team is unique! We are a passionate group of patients, clinicians, researchers and students at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre known as the Opal Health Informatics Group.
Team in December 2023, Click here for current team.
The O-HIG was formed in 2014 when Prof. Laurie Hendren, who was a professor of Computer Science at McGill University, developed breast cancer and received radiotherapy under the care of Dr. Tarek Hijal at the McGill University Health Centre. At the time, Tarek was collaborating with medical physicist Dr. John Kildea on a number of health informatics projects. Tarek introduced Laurie to John. The three hit it off and decided to work together as equals on computer science projects to improve the experiences and outcomes of cancer patients.
Although the team didn’t know it at the beginning, their collaboration would blossom into Opal, an innovative patient portal app to empower Quebec and Canadian patients and facilitate the collection of patient-reported outcomes.
Opal is special because it was built by the O-HIG using a process of participatory stakeholder co-design. The O-HIG involves all stakeholders in the design and development, including patients, clinicians, and researchers. Their pioneering co-design approach ensures that the end result (i.e. the complete Opal software platform) is patient-centered, acceptable to clinicians, and technically feasible within the Quebec healthcare system.
Laurie passed away from her cancer in May 2019 but her legacy lives on in the O-HIG. The research team is now directed by Dr. Kildea and Dr. Hijal is the medical lead.
Click here for a message regarding Laurie Hendren who co-founded and co-led the Opal project.
Feedback
Tell us what you think of Opal and how you think we can improve it.
Send us an email at: opal@muhc.mcgill.ca
Generous Supporters
Share Opal’s vision
Opal is developed and operated non-commercially by the Opal Health Informatics Group,
a research group at the Research Institute of the MUHC. Opal is funded solely through research grants and generous donations. There are many ways in which you can help Opal.
Click here for more information.
