A major digital health-care upgrade is now in place at Almonte General Hospital and Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital, with the launch of the Epic electronic health record system and its patient portal, MyChart.
The two hospitals, part of the Mississippi River Health Alliance, officially went live with the new system on October 24th, joining a growing network of health-care organizations across Eastern Ontario known as the Atlas Alliance.
The goal is to make patient care more connected by allowing doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals to securely access important medical information through one shared digital record.
That means when patients receive care at different participating hospitals, their medical information can follow them, helping reduce duplicated tests, improve communication between care teams and support faster, more informed decisions.
Chief Nursing Executive Lianne Learmonth says, after only a few days in operation, the revolutionary system is making real differences in patient care.
The launch also brings a new level of access for patients through MyChart. The secure online portal allows people to view portions of their medical records, test results, appointment information and other health-care details from a computer or mobile device.
Patients can receive an activation code and registration instructions by providing their email address when registering for hospital care.
Those already using MyChart through another Atlas Alliance hospital won’t need to create another account. Learmonth reports it will reduce the number of trips patients need to make into Ottawa for specialist appointments.
Hospital officials say the transition represents more than a year of planning, training and preparation.
They caution that some appointments, tests and visits could take a little longer during the initial adjustment period, but say maintaining safe, quality patient care remains the priority.
The Foundations for both the Almonte and Carleton Place Hospitals have launched a $4M fundraising campaign to cover the costs of the new programs and urge donors to consider supporting this health-care changing innovation.
More information is available at mrha.ca.
You can hear our complete conversation with Learmonth below.
Story by Brian Turner