600,000 square kilometres and limited number of NSWOCs

Northern Health (www.northernhealth.ca) serves one of British Columbia’s most geographically vast and rural regions covering 600,000 square kilometres. Access to specialized wound and ostomy care has long been constrained by distance, weather, limited specialist availability and fragmented communication tools.

Specialist coverage across the northern region has historically been limited to a small number of NSWOCs spread across Prince George, Terrace, and Fort St. John. Prior to Pixalere, care coordination relied heavily on phone calls, faxed documentation, emailing wound photos, and extensive patient travel, often placing significant physical and logistical burdens on vulnerable patients.

“We were asking patients to travel extraordinary distances for care that couldn’t often be supported remotely. It wasn’t sustainable, and it wasn’t equitable for our rural communities,” says Marilyn Ringdal, Clinical Nurse Educator with Northern Health.

PIXALERE IN PRACTICE

In 2010, Northern Health adopted Pixalere within home and community care as a shared clinical workspace between community nurses and NSWOCs.

Key capabilities include:

• Secure wound photography
• Longitudinal documentation of wound progress
• Automated and manual referrals to NSWOCs

These features allow NSWOCs to remotely review cases, prioritize urgent concerns, and provide timely guidance to nurses in the field.

EXTENDING SPECIALIST REACH THROUGH CLINICAL COACHING

Northern Health’s highly specialized NSWOC team uses Pixalere to extend their reach across a large geographic footprint. In 2025, the Northern Health NSWOC team, together with their IT partners, launched a renewed focus on Pixalere not only as a documentation tool, but as a clinical coachingplatform.

Through virtual photo review, treatment history, and progress tracking, NSWOCs can support community nurses with real-time feedback and education. Coaching conversations are collaborative, creating teachable moments that reinforce evidence-based practice and build nursing confidence.

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