Saskatchewan residents are another step closer to a provincial electronic health record. Health care providers with access to the Electronic Health Record (eHR) Viewer can now see immunization histories and participate in a program to help them better manage their patients with chronic diseases like diabetes and coronary artery disease.
"Patients benefit when their health care team has access to clinical information to support improved decision-making," Health Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Immunizations and chronic diseases are two important areas to address in maintaining good health."
The eHR Viewer is a secure website developed for Saskatchewan health care providers that provides access to patient profiles regardless of where an individual presents for care or where they live in the province.
The eHR Viewer currently also includes access to all patient prescription and allergy information from community pharmacies and 90 per cent of laboratory results from health regions and the Saskatchewan Disease Control Lab.
"The patient directly benefits from providers having timely access to a more accurate, complete and immediate picture of a patient's health," eHealth Saskatchewan CEO Susan Antosh said. "Providers who are using the eHR Viewer have seen a positive impact on patient care."
The privacy and security of personal health information is a high priority for eHealth Saskatchewan and a variety of safeguards are in place.
Anyone who is concerned about access to their personal health information can request their information be masked and only be viewed by patient authorization.
eHealth Saskatchewan is responsible for planning, developing and implementing the provincial electronic health record for Saskatchewan. For more information, visit ehealthsask.ca.
