Why is the use of information systems in healthcare important
Knowing the benefits of electronic health information systems for clinicians
so how can connected electronic health
information systems improve care for
patients make healthcare workplaces more
efficient and help sustain our
healthcare system for years to come
think about the number of times you've
had to recall a patient's history and
can't quickly find what you were looking
for or the number of times you've been
waiting for a lab or diagnostic result
to make an informed decision about your
patients treatment plan or wanted to
change a patient's medication but we're
without access to pertinent medication
information from other health care
providers have you ever wondered if
there was a better way for you to
capture use and manage this exchange of
health information among clinicians or
even if it's possible to have a more
complete picture of your patient's
health history when or where it's needed
wouldn't that help you provide the best
possible care to your patients look at
it this way say you're caring for a
patient who recently had hip replacement
surgery and they come in for a follow-up
two weeks later unfortunately you
haven't received the hospital discharge
summary and the patient can't recall
specific tests and treatments performed
while in hospital but they can tell you
that the home care nurse practitioner
started them on an antibiotic and the
physiotherapist changed their exercise
plan a good start but not enough
information right having access to an
up-to-date summary of the patient care
such as their medications diagnosis and
discharge plan would have provided you
and the patient with the right
information to inform the appropriate
plan of care in your community health
information about patients is collected
in various points of care which often
don't connect so information cannot be
easily shared between healthcare
locations
this means clinicians often have to rely
on the memory of their patients or
family members who conveyed their
understanding of the diagnosis and
treatment plan having fully connected
electronic health record systems will
allow all authorized clinicians to
retrieve a patient's health information
quickly and securely not only will it
save health care teams time it will
avoid potentially harmful
errors and adverse drug events in order
to improve health care in Canada Canada
health info Way is working with the
provinces territories and clinicians to
create and connect a network of
electronic health information systems in
your community province and eventually
across the country which in the future
will allow you to easily and securely
share pertinent health information
amongst authorized clinicians caring for
your patients which not only improves
the efficiency of your professional
practice but contributes to a quality
health care system in Canada for years
to come and at the end of the day that
gives you the confidence that you will
continue to provide the best possible
care for your patients because knowing
is better than not knowing
