Paperless practice works wonders for Canadian physicians

Armed with strong government support and technology guidance, a growing number of Canadian doctors are moving to paperless health care.

And they’re reaping big benefits.

Adopting electronic medical records (EMR) in their offices has given several Alberta physicians more flexibility in handling patients, according to Dr. Steve Edworthy, rheumatologist and co-chair of Alberta’s Physician Office System Program (POSP).

“The ability to do away with my paper chart has allowed me more flexibility in the way I see my patients. I can work in different hospitals and still have my (patient) charts electronically available,” said Edworthy, adding automation has also made scheduling appointments more efficient.

POSP, implemented jointly by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Medical Association and the province’s regional health authorities three years ago, provides financial subsidies to physicians adopting new information technologies in their clinics. The goal is to encourage more doctors to switch to paperless patient care.

Alberta bears 70 per cent of the cost of implementing and maintaining EMR systems, and physicians foot the remaining 30 per cent. The POSP allocated $25 million to fund the program in 2003, $20 million in 2004, and $20.6 million for this year.

To date, 43 per cent of Alberta physicians have implemented EMR systems in their offices. Edworthy said POSP expects the rate to go up to 75 per cent by 2008.

POSP proponents are also looking at interfacing pharmacy networks with the EMR system, according to Edworthy. He said this may start happening in Alberta within the year.

“By having electronic capability, we will be able to see all the medication that have been prescribed as well as all the medication that have been dispensed. You’d think those (two) are the same, but they’re not,” the Alberta physician said.

Edworthy is one of about 2,000 physicians in North America that use CLINICARE’s Computerized Medical Records (CMR) application. CMR’s features include a scheduled patient list, cumulative patient profile, image import and viewing, lab graphs, growth charts and body mass index displays.

CLINICARE is a software developer and provider of technology tools for group practice physicians in North America.

With EMR, patient care is no longer confined within the walls of a doctor’s clinic, said Brent Mitchell, CLINICARE marketing manager. He added a doctor can be in the “middle of the Pacific Ocean” and could still have access to patient information.