Susan Antosh, the CEO of Saskatchewan’s eHealth Saskatchewan paid a visit to the Sun Country Health Region on May 25 to provide first-hand information to the board members who had gathered in the Tatagwa View conference room in Weyburn.
eHealth provides data stewardship for the Saskatchewan Electronic Health Record plus other health information systems and databases when appropriate to do so.
During her Power point presentation, Antosh noted that Sun Country was among the leaders in most categories in terms of information technology and meeting the IT standards necessary for connecting local electronic health information system to the Saskatchewan electronic health records and their associated components.
Antosh emphasized the electronic health information system was launched about five years ago and has progressed steadily and carefully to deliver health-related information from point-to-point in a secure manner, thus easing pressure and stress not only on patients, their families and health-care providers, but also administrators.
The speed and clarity of information means more timely care for the patients, she suggested, “empowering patients and enabling providers with the right information at the right time through a provincially standardized system that is sustainable and secure, is the vision,” she said.
Antosh spoke briefly about how processes were being standardized, melding over 500 into a more workable function that will work across the province.
She also talked about sustainability of the system, the opportunities that are surfacing as the project moves onward and the various people involved in the partnerships.
Getting patient information to health-care providers is just one key element to the system, she said. The system also has the capability to provide information to directly assist patients in certain circumstances.
Improved productivity is working hand-in-hand with improvements in safety and security of the delivery system, she said.
eHealth operates under the wing of the provincial Treasury board’s Crown office and it includes procurement implementation.
The office is funded through an annual fee paid by all health regions.
Antosh fielded several questions and heard a few testimonials from board members following her presentation and was thanked by board chairwoman Marilyn Charlton and Sun Country’s CEO Marga Cugnet.
