E-records coming for hundreds of thousands of patients
Provincial electronic medical record program will improve efficiency, save money, says medical society
New Brunswick has moved "from almost the worst in the country to near the front of the pack" for electronic medical record adoption, says the president of the New Brunswick Medical Society.
Dr. Lynn Hansen says 357 doctors out of the eligible 950 enrolled in the provincial program by this week's deadline for federal funds.
Hundreds of thousands of New Brunswick patients will soon have digitized records, improving the efficiency and productivity of physician offices, she said in a statement on Thursday.
The e-record program will save the health care system money through better referral processes, fewer missed appointments and faster access to test results, said Hansen.
It will also allow doctors to spend more time with patients by reducing the time spent managing and searching through paper charts, she said.
“The support of Canada Health Infoway and the government of New Brunswick has been instrumental to this program’s success."
Canada Health Infoway, a federal agency, covered one-third of the $24,000 cost of the program for doctors who signed up by midnight on April 1.
The EMR program is managed by a doctor-led company called Velante.