More than 90% of P.E.I. family practitioners using electronic records, officials say

The move to a province-wide electronic medical records system has gone remarkably well, health officials said at a technical briefing on Thursday.

The system allows physicians to share information like prescription records and patient history, plus sends out automated appointment reminders and pre-visit questionnaires.

Despite some recent challenges caused by the implementation, including missed referrals, Health P.E.I. says the switch has gone more quickly and more smoothly than anticipated.

"Implementing something like this is extraordinarily complex so you fully expect that it's going to upset some people But overall we've done very well," said Health P.E.I. CEO Dr. Michael Gardam.

"It really is short- and medium-term pain for long-term gain."

Officials say 90 per cent of family practitioners are now using the system to some degree, and 80 per cent have been using the system for more than nine months.

A recent survey showed that about 70 per centsaid it made their workflow more efficient, and they're able to better co-ordinate patient care.

Officials say there is some work left to do, like moving the remaining clinics to the system and tweaking the system over time according to the needs of the program's users.

Patient portal coming

A patient portal is expected to be rolled out in the coming months, allowing patients to access their own lab results, X-rays and medical information.

Officials say P.E.I. had been behind the rest of the country on electronic medical record access, but has since surpassed much of the country. Gardam said thisis now the only province with a province-wide EMR system, which lets practitioners across the Island share information.

"P.E.I. could be Canada's health-care petri dish, and this is an example where we've gotten there," Gardam said.