Cancer care providers in Nova Scotia are adopting a cancer-specific electronic medical record system called ARIA CORE over autumn, along with expanding an online patient tool designed to connect patients with their care teams.
The patient engagement app provides patients who are using an online calendar with access to their cancer appointments and reminders, with the expansion set to enable access to educational materials and videos. Patients without access to a phone, tablet or computer can receive paper copies of their appointment schedule and resources, and a family member or friend can register for the app on their behalf.
QEII Cancer Centre in Halifax has moved over to the EPR and expanded the patient engagement app this week, with the roll-out set to occur at Cape Breton Cancer Centre and other sites in the province on 12 November.
The changes form part of the latest phase of the Oncology Transformation Project which launched in February last year and has so far introduced standardised patient scheduling and the beginning of the move to EPR. The current phase sees the shift to EPR across the province, whilst the final phase – scheduled for spring next year – will see the introduction of ARIA Systemic Therapy Management, planned to include electronic prescribing.
Dr. Helmut Hollenhorst, senior medical director, Cancer Care Program, comments: “ARIA CORE and the patient engagement app will benefit cancer care providers and their patients… Through ARIA CORE, cancer care teams will have immediate access to their patients’ cancer information, wherever their patient receives care in the province. The new system also improves safety for patients and reduces the chance of errors.”
In other news from Nova Scotia, in the summer we reported on the expansion of the YourHealthNS app to allow patients to access more information about X-ray results.
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