The CHIMA Industry Spotlight series showcases corporate contributions to health information in Canada. This spotlight features Mustimuhw Information Solutions, a BC-based software solutions provider.

Mustimuhw (pronounced Moose tee mook) Information Solutions is a software development company advancing solutions created by and for First Nations. Mustimuhw (meaning “all of the people” or “all my relations”) specializes in point-of-service tools for the health and human services sector, including client-centric health record documentation, virtual care technologies, and case management tools for First Nation service organizations.

Their cEMR (community electronic medical record) solution is the product of extensive community and provider input and reflects the unique and broad range of services and programs delivered by First Nations.  Mustimuhw is fully owned by Cowichan tribes and is guided by the traditional teachings of their Elders: “Share what you have” and “Help one another, and work together for the good of all.” Their solutions have been adopted in seven provinces and one territory and are used to support service delivery to nearly half the Nations in the country – the solutions of choice for First Nations.

Mustimuhw’s cEMR supports many functions (including charting, registries, standardized problem identification, follow-up management, care plans, reporting, etc.) and is designed to automatically generate specific funder reports. Their cEMR supports health programs funded by Indigenous Services Canada, including community nursing, home and community care, mental wellness, Jordan’s Principle, and medical transportation, as well as child and family services.

Mustimuhw supports alignment with the First Nations principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP™), which establishes that First Nations own and control the collection, use, and disclosure of their data. The cEMR supports coordinated care, enables multiple provider workflows, provides an extensive reporting function, and facilitates charting and documentation. Customers can also count on ongoing support before, during, and after implementation.

Of particular importance is the cEMR’s extensive reporting capabilities. Over 100 types of reports (including FNIHCC Annual Report, eSDRT, CBRT, Jordan’s Principle reports, and MedTrans) can be swiftly generated from existing data, eliminating redundancy and standardizing report generation.

Mustimuhw’s cEMR has implemented rigorous privacy and security standards to receive certification from Canada Health Infoway. Furthermore, the cEMR has been designed with robust role-based access controls, and interested customers are provided with a privacy and security toolkit that meets legislative and best practice requirements in all provinces and territories. This toolkit includes procedures and tools to implement policies, audit and breach management training, privacy officer training, and privacy and security awareness training.

Mustimuhw has a four-step privacy assessment protocol: PrivacyFirst baseline assessment–›Remediation plan–›Capacity development and training–›Progress Assessment. The remediation plan includes materials for addressing privacy gaps and a dashboard to track compliance progress.

With over three thousand users, Mustimuhw’s cEMR is also used by other institutions besides First Nations health centres. These include healing centres, adult care societies, tribal council health teams, mental health and education teams, health centre wellness teams, and child and family services teams.

Customers enjoy training (user guides, webinars, practice sessions), configuration support, customizable forms and reports, implementation support (technical assessment, knowledge planning, change management support), upgrades, disaster recovery, and other support services.

When onboarding new customers onto the system, Mustimuhw relies on the expertise of health information professionals to guide organizations through the decision-making and implementation process. Health information professionals can help ensure that the right questions are asked and that all stakeholders clearly understand the system, its functions, and its impact on their day-to-day collection, retrieval, storage, and usage of data. They can also identify knowledge gaps and conduct regular user access audits in compliance with privacy and security practices.

Mustimuhw facilitates information governance for First Nations communities and improves care outcomes for all. In 2020, they entered into an agreement with Canada Health Infoway to integrate PrescribeIT® into their cEMR. This integration connects prescribers such as physicians and nurse practitioners to pharmacists through the cEMR and streamlines access to medication for First Nations communities.

Mustimuhw has also embarked on the Indigenous Digital Health Ecosystem (IDHE) Project to further their work for Nation-based solutions. This project is focused on developing a “culturally aligned” digital platform and a suite of integrated applications. IDHE will lean on Mustimuhw’s leadership in software solutions development and the OCAP principles to ensure “a Nation-based approach to data management and business intelligence.” IDHE is led by Mustimuhw in collaboration with a consortium of business, digital health, and academic partners.  

Currently, Mustimuhw is upgrading their Child and Family Services module to support First Nations moving forward with Bill C92. The Act “enables Indigenous groups and communities to transition toward exercising partial or full jurisdiction over child and family services” at their own pace. Functions available within this new module focus on more holistic service delivery models, providing tools to support planning, assessments, agreements, care supports, caregivers, and referrals.