Electronic health records adopted at west-side clinic

The adoption of electronic patient records at a Saskatoon clinic was celebrated Monday as a long-awaited step toward modernization.

The team at the West Winds Primary Health Care Centre on Fairlight Drive is one of the first in the province to implement electronic medical records (EMRs).

"This is long overdue," said Dr. Mark Lees, a physician at the clinic. "Canada, for reasons that aren’t clear to me, has been a late adopter of technology in the provision of primary care, with regard to EMRs. I’m excited to see Saskatchewan . . . is taking steps to move this forward. And I’m happier to work in this province than I was a year ago."

Electronic records are in the process of being rolled out to the 71 primary health-care teams in the province. West Winds is among six using the technology as of July.

There are many benefits to electronic patient records, said Health Minister Don McMorris, such as reducing duplication of tests and procedures, providing alerts to contradictory medication orders, creating a unified record of service, easily identifying opportunities for patient education, and improving patient flow and overall communication.

"These benefits demonstrate how this solution helps health-care providers work as a cohesive unit while keeping the needs of the patient top of mind," said McMorris.

The use of electronic records comes as some relief to the University of Saskatchewan college of medicine, said associate dean Dr. Femi Olatunbosun.

Accreditation standards require students to be familiar with modern technology, including EMRs.

"What’s happened today signals to those of us in the college of medicine and to the public of Saskatchewan that we are serious in joining the 21st century in advancing health care in this province," he said.

Medical trainees today aren’t interested in environments filled with paper charts and filing cabinets, Olatunbosun said. They’re eager to use technology to enhance their work.

Not everyone was initially as eager about the electronic records.

"Some people had never turned on a computer before, and they were very honest about that," said Nancy Klebaum, manager of the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby program. "Others were really excited about the challenge and they really looked forward to it."

Klebaum said her team has found EMRs have improved care in a number of ways, including providing better collaborative care and better continuity of care for patients.

Electronic records are also in use in all three of Saskatoon’s emergency rooms and there are plans to fully adopt EMRs throughout the health region.