Difference between revisions of "Alberta Netcare"

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'''Alberta Netcare''' is a successfully deployed single province-wide Electronic Medical Record [[EMR]] system in Canada. It was developed in order to be a central repository of clinical data that is produced anywhere within the province of Alberta [http://www.albertanetcare.ca].  
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'''Alberta Netcare''' is a successfully deployed single province-wide electronic medical record ([[EMR]]) system in Canada. It was developed in order to be a central repository of clinical data that is produced anywhere within the province of Alberta [http://www.albertanetcare.ca].  
  
 
== Background ==
 
== Background ==

Revision as of 17:42, 5 September 2012

Alberta Netcare is a successfully deployed single province-wide electronic medical record (EMR) system in Canada. It was developed in order to be a central repository of clinical data that is produced anywhere within the province of Alberta [1].

Background

Alberta Netcare was developed by Alberta Health and Wellness (AHW) in cooperation with Alberta Health Services and other partners including health professional colleges and associations [2]. The system holds a secure lifetime record of key health information, and is a critical reference tool for Albertan health care professionals. Thus, it is not a patient's full health or medical record, but a supplement to patient care. The Alberta Netcare system captures several key data elements from health service providers around Alberta for inclusion in a patient's provincial electronic health record. These key elements include:

  • personal demographic information as a unique identifier
  • prescribed dispensed drugs
  • known allergies and intolerances
  • immunizations
  • laboratory test results
  • diagnostic imaging reports
  • other medical reports

Information Management

The information is then provided through Alberta Netcare EHR Portal for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other authorized health service providers. It includes several decision support tools including:

  • drug to drug and drug to allergy interaction alerts to avoid prescriptions that conflict
  • a database of all available drugs and their common dosages
  • links to information support such as clinical guidelines from the Alberta Medical Association

Information is maintained by two methods:

  • Primarily, information is automatically accessed and captured from the existing electronic data systems of pharmacies, labs, diagnostic services and Alberta Health Services facilities. This means that this information is not re-keyed or re-entered by anyone, it is gathered from source systems.
  • Additionally, some information can be entered directly into a record by an Alberta Netcare authorized health service provider.

Patient Identifier

Electronic health records created and maintained by Alberta Netcare are indexed by a unique patient identifier, the Provincial Health Number. The PHN is assigned to a person who is eligible to receive services from Alberta Health and Wellness. This value is synonymous with the Unique Lifetime Identifier (ULI) assigned by Person Directory. (1)

Products

1. Alberta Netcare EHR Portal

Comprised of several EHR products that have been developed to meet regional needs and the requirements of health service providers. These products are linked together to comprise the province-wide Alberta Netcare EHR Portal. Alberta Netcare EHR Portal is the enhanced version of Alberta Netcare Portal 2004. This release provides access to the full range of currently-available patient health information:

  • personal demographic information helps to uniquely identify each patient
  • prescribed dispensed drugs
  • known allergies and intolerances
  • immunizations
  • laboratory test results
  • diagnostic imaging reports
  • other medical reports

2. Alberta Netcare EHR Portal "system to system" (S2S) version

Integrates directly with some physician Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. S2S allows data to be seamlessly accessed and transferred between these local systems and the provincial electronic health record.

3. Alberta Netcare Portal 2004

Provides access to basic patient information:

  • personal demographics to make it easy to identify and find patients
  • prescribed dispensed drugs, as well as known allergies and intolerances
  • some laboratory results

Programs

Alberta Health and Wellness (AHW) has a number of programs to support the implementation of Alberta Netcare EHR with health service providers throughout Alberta.

1. Physician Office System Program (POSP)

The first of its kind in Canada, POSP has been successful in helping physicians at every phase in the transition to electronic medical record (EMR) sytems in their clinics. POSP works with health stakeholders to develop and maintain a comprehensive set of standards-based requirements for physician office systems. POSP is a joint initiative under the Master Agreement between the Alberta Medical Association, Alberta Health and Wellness and Alberta Health Services [3].

2. Other Programs

AHW has put in place a number of other programs to address regional and specific provider needs. More information can be obtained at:

Alberta Netcare Enrolment Line 1-866-756-2647 toll free, or in Edmonton 780-642-4082, email: health.ehrdeployment@gov.ab.ca


References

  1. Pharmaceutical Information Network Data Set, http://www.health.alberta.ca/documents/HISCA-Pharmaceutical-Info.pdf
  2. Alberta Netcare
  3. Physician Office System Program (POSP) website, http://www.posp.ab.ca/