By Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Joint Council of Conception Bay North has some reservations about CorCare, the new health information system that NL Health Services will make public on April 25.
Joint Council members raised their concerns following a presentation by Fraser Fry and Steven Lockyer, two senior officials with NL Health Services.
The pair told the Joint Council that the health information system the Province has been using is outdated, having been implemented in 1982. CorCare will replace 150 legacy systems, integrating health information into one system. Fry and Lockyer said CorCare will enhance how healthcare is delivered, ease workflows for doctors and staff, and make personal health records more accessible.
“CorCare enables real-time, up-to-date health information across sites, geographics, and providers,” said Lockyer.
No matter where people live in the province, their health records will always be live and current.
“Our new system is patient-focused,” said Fry. “Anything we do within our healthcare system, we certainly have a patient-centred approach to delivering services.”
He added CorCare will have connections for family doctors and nurse practitioners.
CorCare has three parts, they explained: Hyperspace, the full version of the program that will be used in hospitals; CorCare Link, a web portal that allows clinicians to easily enter the system and track the progress of referrals in real time; and MyChart, the patient portal through which personal health records can be accessed.
Carbonear Deputy Mayor Fred Earle asked if the new system will require doctors who use physical records to switch to digital.
Lockyer said doctors will still be able to use physical records in their personal practices, but will be asked to use the CorCare Link web portal when interacting with NL Health Services.
As for the MyChart patient portal, Lockyer said, it will not just allow people to see their medical history and updates, but also that of their dependents.
“That’s what will transform and really enable patients to take charge of their own healthcare,” Lockyer said.
People will also be able to use MyChart to book appointments and compare the wait times at different hospitals.
Harbour Grace councillor Christina Hearn expressed worry that less tech-savvy people may have difficulty using CorCare.
Lockyer said they are doing a media campaign about the new system, and are looking to work with town councils and other groups to help people learn how to use it.
NL Health Services would also like to partner with libraries throughout the province as they offer computer access to the public and have staff who can help visitors go online.
There will also be a phoneline that people can call for help when using CorCare.
Spaniard’s Bay Mayor Tammy Oliver shared an anecdote about her daughter, who is a nurse. During a course on how to use CorCare, Oliver’s daughter witnessed an older nurse walk out in frustration and say she was done.
“We don’t want to lose any doctors or nurses over this for any reason whatsoever,” said Oliver.
“Sometimes change is difficult,” said Lockyer. “And we anticipate the road to be bumpy, we truly do. And that’s why we’ve got an enormous support.” He said that, in addition to the support phoneline, there is in-person and peer support
Concerns were also raised about sensitive health information, such as cancer diagnoses, being delivered through the system rather than in-person. Through CorCare, patients will have access to any information their doctor chooses to make available. Lockyer says there is an option for doctor’s to hide information on the system until they can speak to their patient in person. It will be up to individual healthcare providers to decide to share information in person or online.
