Health and Community Services
October 16, 2014
Improving Health Technology for Patients, Families and Communities
Request for Proposals Issued to Develop Provincial Electronic Medical Record System
The Provincial Government, in partnership with the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information and the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association, has issued a request for proposals to develop a provincial electronic medical record system to be used in physician practices. An electronic medical record will complement the ongoing development of the provincial electronic health record, HEALTHe NL, which provides a secure and private record of a person’s health and health care history.
“The addition of an electronic medical record is a very important step for health care delivery in our province. This initiative will provide physicians with a new tool that will allow them to better manage, track and monitor health information in their everyday interactions with patients. The implementation of an electronic medical record has direct benefits to patients and the health care system including more effective clinical decision making, reductions in duplicate laboratory testing, increased patient safety, greater support for chronic disease management, and increasing communication among health care providers. We look forward to working with physicians who will be essential to the success of this project and the positive impact it will have on patients and health care.”
- The Honourable Steve Kent, Minister of Health and Community Services
The request for proposals is seeking to procure software, equipment and professional services necessary to create and implement an electronic medical record system for physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador. The initial phase of the project will target uptake of up to 300 physicians. To view a copy of the request for proposals please visit: www.nlchi.nl.ca/index.php/open-tenders
“The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information is pleased to deliver the electronic medical record solution for Newfoundland and Labrador. An electronic medical record will complement and contribute to the provincial electronic health record, HEALTHe NL, currently being developed by the centre. These two initiatives will work together to provide a more complete patient profile and support clinicians across the health care system in providing better patient care.”
- Mike Barron, President and CEO, Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information
An electronic medical record digitizes patient information in a physician’s clinic that has been traditionally stored and recorded in paper files. Streamlining data collection into an electronic format helps improve how clinics operate and how patient information is collected, analyzed and retrieved. An electronic medical record, coupled with HEALTHe NL, will enable more efficient access to other valuable health care provider and patient information, including community medication profiles from the Pharmacy Network to test results from across the province.
“The Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association is extremely pleased with the progress being made towards a provincial electronic medical record system. Physicians have been involved in the design of the RFP and we look forward to ongoing collaboration with the Provincial Government to select a vendor that will meet the needs of both physicians and our patients. The switch from paper to electronic medical records has become a standard of practice in today’s modern primary health care clinic. The use of electronic medical records supports a team-based approach to delivering primary health care. It also makes the province much more attractive to prospective physicians, including our own medical graduates, who want to practice at their full scope using state-of-art technology.”
- Dr. Wendy Graham, President, Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association
The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information is the provincial lead on the development and implementation of HEALTHe NL, the provincial electronic health record. Components of the electronic health record that have been implemented include the Picture Archiving and Communications System that provides the ability to remotely review diagnostic images, a Client Registry to help link patient data, a Provider Registry, the Pharmacy Network that provides more comprehensive access to patient medication information, and the HEALTHe NL Viewer that provides authorized health care professionals with a single point of access to view patient information at the place of care.
QUICK FACTS
- A request for proposals is being issued to procure software, equipment and professional services necessary to create and implement an electronic medical record system for physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Implementing an electronic medical record will complement and contribute to the provincial HEALTHe NL electronic health record system that currently includes a Picture Archiving and Communications System, Client Registry, Provider Registry, Pharmacy Network and the HEALTHe NL Viewer.
- An electronic medical record digitizes patient health information that has traditionally been recorded in paper files in physician clinics.
- The benefits from implementing electronic medical records can include more effective clinical decision making, reductions in duplicate laboratory testing, increased patient safety, greater support for chronic disease management, and increasing communication among health care providers.
- The Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information is the provincial lead on the development and implementation of the HEALTHe NL electronic health record.
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Media contacts:
| Heather MacLean Director of Communications Department of Health and Community Services 709-729-1377, 697-4137 heathermaclean@gov.nl.ca |
Colleen Ryan Director of Communications Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information 709-631-0995, 752-6111 colleen.ryan@nlchi.nl.ca |
| Jonathan Carpenter Director, Communications and Public Affairs Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association 709-726-7424 (ext 303), 691-0928 jcarpenter@nlma.nl.ca |
2014 10 16 3:45 p.m.