Nova Scotia Health set to roll out digital health record system Saturday

Testing the One Person One Record system at IWK Health. (Courtesy of IWK Health and the Government of Nova Scotia)

Nova Scotia is set to implement its digital clinical information system on Saturday.

In an announcement Thursday, the province says this second phase of the rollout marks a milestone as it includes the province’s largest concentration of health-care facilities and providers in the greater Halifax area.

Members of the union representing health-care workers in the province have recently urged the government to delay the “One Person One Record” digital health-records system.

Representatives of the Nova Scotia General Employees Union (NSGEU) have indicated they’re not prepared for the next phase to deliver adequate patient care. The union represents more than 13,000 health-care workers.

The province’s health authority and the minister of health and wellness reaffirm the rollout will go ahead as planned, despite the pushback.

“The expansion of One Person One Record across more of the health system is connecting care in a way that hasn’t been possible,” says Brian Comer, minister of addictions and mental health, in the news release. “With secure access to a patient’s complete, up-to-date information, healthcare providers can deliver better care, faster.”

The system gives professionals access to a patient’s information from clinics, emergency department visits, mental health and addictions treatment and inpatient care.

“For patients, this means no longer having to retell your medical history to every new healthcare provider you see,” Comer says.

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