Doctors Nova Scotia says Nova Scotia’s Department of Health Wellness’s decision to pause the use of electronic medical records (EMR) in provincial hospitals is causing “quite a bit of anxiety.”
The decision came after nine health authorities merged into one back in April. Some hospitals were using electronic records while others did not — for medical and legal risks — so the health department is looking to take “a consistent, provincial approach with a fully integrated system.”
Dr. Michael Wadden, a family physician in Kentville and the chair of the Doctors Nova Scotia IT Steering Committee, told CBC it “needs to be quickly and reasonably figured out.” Wadden went on to say that the decision makes physicians’ care for patients “less effective” and has put many doctors “in limbo.”
The decision does not apply to physicians who have already been approved to use electronic medical records, or physicians practising outside of hospitals.
Health department figures show that about 70 per cent of family doctors in Nova Scotia use electronic medical records, as well as 43 per cent of community-based specialists, but the government wants to increase those numbers. Since 2004, the provincial government has spent $37 million establishing electronic medical record systems.
