Dialogue Volume 12 Issue 4 2016 | Page 36

Recommendations for a timeline
Sharing digital images across the province
Electronic health record
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to incorporate the information from different data repositories like the Ontario Laboratories Information System ( OLIS ) into their own electronic medical record . This would reduce the time spent toggling between systems or printing out relevant information and manually adding it to the patient record , she said . The College is currently involved in making sure that setting up physician access to the Electronic Health Record and other eHealth services is as simple as possible . Specifically , the College is working with eHealth Ontario towards streamlining the
Recommendations for a timeline
An advisor to the Kathleen Wynne government recently provided an assessment of digital health assets in Ontario , including eHealth Ontario , and made some recommendations aimed at moving the EHR system forward .
“ Tremendous progress has been made to date , but such progress also underlines the need to do more , faster ,” wrote Mr . Ed Clark , a former CEO at TD Bank , in his report .
Mr . Clark said the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care should work with its partners to confirm and communicate its preliminary goals , such as :
ONE ID sign up process for members through the College ’ s secure member portal . After successfully accessing our secure portal , physicians will be able to select “ ONE ID registration ” and have their College information automatically passed to eHealth Ontario – making the registration process easier . ONE ID is the first step to enabling physicians to request access to services such as OLIS , Diagnostic Imaging Common Service and ONE Mail . Having one digital identity to multiple eHealth services will reduce the number of IDs and passwords a physician must manage and remember .
Electronic Health Record goals : Within 5 years , all authorized care providers should be accessing and contributing to patients ’ shared electronic health records so as to improve coordination of care .
Hospital goals : Within 5 years , all hospitals should be using electronic tools to improve medication safety , to bring the latest clinical evidence to the bedside , and to share information with patients and those caring for a patient after discharge , in order to ensure more seamless follow-up care .
Patient goals : Within 5-7 years , all Ontarians should have online access to their own health information , such as test results , and to proven tools that enable them to book appointments , request prescription refills / renewals , connect with healthcare providers , manage their health , and share information as they choose to with others involved in their care .
Sharing digital images across the province
Physicians have been able to access Diagnostic Imaging ( DI ) reports for several years , within their own region . But a new eHealth Ontario service improves on what has been previously available by allowing DI reports to be shared throughout the province . The Diagnostic Imaging Common Service is now available in southwest Ontario through the ClinicalConnect viewer . Healthcare providers in the rest of the province who have access to the ConnectingOntario viewer will be able to check DI reports in their viewer later this year . Those without access to an eHealth viewer will still be able to review DI reports through eHealth Ontario ’ s portal . Access to digital diagnostic imaging reports helps eliminate the need for physical transfer of test results , and the costly duplication of scans when a patient moves from one hospital to another . Most importantly for patients , it allows specialists at one facility to access DI results from other hospitals , allowing for more informed and timely clinical decisions . Physicians interested in getting more information are urged to go online at www . ehealthontario . on . ca and pull down the Health- Care Professionals tab .
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Dialogue Issue 4 , 2016