Online patient portal opens new doors
An EHR success story
Experts say self–management combined with early intervention of health care teams can delay the progression of kidney disease in the pre–dialysis stage. With that aim, Kitchener's Grand River Hospital and University Health Network in Toronto launched an online service to provide chronic kidney disease patients with the support and education they need to self–manage their health care.
Structured similar to an online banking website, the system enhances communication between patients and health care providers, as well as helps patients to identify goals and monitor their progress with the hope of reducing unplanned doctor visits.
All facets of phase one have been active since November 2008. Patients are able to develop goals, access educational resources, create a journal, participate in discussion boards and view appointments online. Phase two, which went "live" at the end of March 2008, resulted in patients having access to lab results and current medications listed in their electronic health record and request referrals to their Community Care Access Centre.
Claudette DeLenardo, Grand River's director, E–Health Technologies, says, "These portals can be used as a tool to enhance the patient's relationship with health care providers, set goals, get information and improve outcomes. In the long term, I believe they'll demonstrate that they lead to a better utilization of health care resources."
In 2003, Grand River developed an online service known as My CARE Source for patients with cancer, and University Health Network offers a portal, called InfoWell, for breast cancer survivors and patients with diabetes.
"When we started developing the online service in 2003, some people could not identify with what we were trying to do — but with the current emphasis on disease self–management, others are jumping on the bandwagon. It's a very exciting time," says Ms. DeLenardo.
The undertaking was made possible with the support of the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Information Network (LHIN), Canada Health Infoway and the Shared Information Management Services (SIMS) Partnership, a service that supports the information needs of 13 health care organizations in the Greater Toronto Area.
Patients in the LHINs of Waterloo/Wellington and Toronto Central have already benefitted from the current undertaking. The portal application is easy to use and 91% of participants have indicated that the portal provided motivation to manage their disease. An additional 95% of patients said they would use the portal to seek help again. The top 3 features cited by users were: lab results, appointment scheduling and reminders, and health information cites by users.
