Getting Connected - Part II
- October 2003
- Français
Niagara residents who use Greater Niagara General and Welland Hospital Sites will have one less card to carry this Fall as the Niagara Health System puts in place new information technology solution for patient registration. On October 21, 2003 patients coming to Greater Niagara General Site will no longer have to bring their blue hospital card to the patient registration area. "We are implementing a new health care information system that includes patient registration. In the new system, patients will only need to present their valid Ontario Health Card," says Bala Kathiresan, Chief Information Office for the NHS. On November 4 Welland Hospital Site will also go through a similar change to the new software, eliminating the orange card for that hospital site. This system is already in use in Douglas Memorial, Port Colborne and Shaver/Rehab Sites of the Niagara Health System.
Implementation of these applications is an important milestone in the NHS’ effort to implement a system-wide electronic patient health record. The improvement to the registration process is only one of a number of significant improvements the eHealth initiative will bring to health care in the Niagara, Kathiresan says. "A number of our patients go to different hospitals sites within Niagara for their care. They may come into one site for Emergency care, and go to another site for follow-up diagnostic tests. That means they have to keep track of a number of different hospital cards and provide detailed demographic information at every interaction. This process will change as patient information will be captured once to be accessible at the point-of-care delivery."
With the new system, those individual hospital cards will be eliminated. Instead, all patients will be required to present is their Ontario Health Card, no matter which NHS site they visit. "While this is one of the visible changes patients will notice, the eHealth initiative will slowly but steadily transform the way health care services are accessed and delivered and bring about very positive changes in every area of the NHS," says Kathiresan. Delivery of health care is an information-intensive process. From physicians to all other care providers, having the ability to access up-to-date patient information at the point-of-care delivery will enable them to provide optimum care.
The emphasis the NHS is placing on an Electronic Health Record is consistent with the provincial and federal governments’ committee findings. Kathiresan says, "We are committed to taking advantage of information technology in health care and to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of patients' information. Only authorized hospital staff will have access to electronic patient information, and a number of security checks are being implemented to secure the system from unauthorized access."
Such a transformational change will take some time to perfect and perform at the level of service patients have come to expect from the NHS. We have taken a number of steps to minimize any inconvenience a patient may experience. However, patients coming to Greater Niagara General and Welland Hospital Sites in late October and November are requested to come at least 10-15 minutes early for their appointments and be patient with registration process as the registration staff input information in the new system.
Please ensure that your Ontario Health Card is valid and up-to-date prior to your hospital visit. To update your Ontario Health Card, call the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care at 1-888-376-5197. Ensuring your name and other information is current and accurate will not only help us in our registration process but will go a long way in assisting the government in their fight against the health card fraud.