Guardians of patients at McMaster Children’s Hospital among early adopters of new data system

A patient data system that’s now live at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) is already receiving some high praise for it’s Visit Messaging Service providing text-message updates for a close family members undergoing surgery.

The feature is part of HHS‘ new $175-million information system called Epic which tracks patients through the health system, including multiple care units, with the aim of providing better patient care overall.

Mom Lindsay Janzen was one example of a parent receiving peace of mind from the database receiving regular updates from McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) as her infant underwent a six-hour cranial vault reconstruction surgery in mid-June.

“Knowing that McKinley was going to be put under anesthesia and have a breathing tube and surgery was extremely worrying,” said Janzen, whose eight-month-old daughter McKinley is now recovering at home in Niagara.

“As a parent, you’re scared and thinking about the worst-case scenario. That’s why it’s so helpful to receive updates directly from the operating room.”

Dave McCaig, HHS’ executive vice president of corporate affairs, says the messages received are aligned with “phases of care” from when a patient enters an operating room to coming out of a post-anesthesia care unit.

“Those kinds of messages would go automatically,” McCaig said.

“Depending on the length of the surgery … the nurse also has the option to send other updates in real-time through text messaging. So, you’re no longer having to sit and wait and wonder when the surgeon might come out and speak to the family members as to how things are going or how it went.”

The system launched on June 4 and is totally digital, eliminating the need for paper records.

Supplemented with an app called MyChart, HHS patients aged 12 years and older can now access their own health records – things like test results, medications, appointments and summaries of each hospital visit.

Health-care providers will also have access eliminating the need for patients to remember their medical history every time they meet with a new doctor or specialist.

McCaig says Janzen’s case is an example of where the system is having the greatest affect – with parents, who appear to be the most receptive adopters of the technology.

The mother, her husband and a pair of family members were at MCH the day of the surgery and said they felt comfortable leaving for short breaks, like visiting the cafeteria or restroom thanks to the updates.

“We didn’t have to worry about missing an opportunity to talk in-person to a member of the surgical team,” Janzen said in a HHS release.

Janzen received three text messages over the six hours including a heads-up that one of the surgeons would be out to speak with them in person, in 15 to 20 minutes, once the surgery was complete.

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Proxy access to the MyChart feature is also something thousands of parents have already adopted at MCH according to McCaig, allowing them to more easily manage their child’s health record or even potentially an older parent’s account.

“Some children have a lot of interaction with McMaster, so it’s a great way to have information available without carrying around a binder,” McCaig remarked.

The new Epic initiative has raised concerns for some Hamiltonians including advocates with the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HAARC), the Hamilton Trans Health Coalition and others working with individuals experiencing homelessness.

The groups have expressed some uneasiness over the lack of demographic socioeconomic data being collected to potentially reduce health inequity among marginalized populations.

Previously, McCaig agreed those were “valid concerns” and said “all identifying data” wasn’t prioritized for the launch due to the size and complexity of the project.

“Our first priority is to ensure everything is functioning as designed. We’ve focused all our energy on that goal. It is the safest and most practical choice for everyone,” McCaig said in a June 3 statement.

The executive says St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton is already using Epic but there are still a number of hospitals in Ontario that have yet to adopt the platform.

“I’m sure as these features become available and others learn on how good they are … I’m expecting more and more hospitals will enable these kinds of real-time updates” McCaig said.