BC Opt Out News
December 9, 2009: myHEALTHPlan to Connect Patients, Family Doctors and Care Providers December 9. 2009 (Surrey, BC) – Fraser Health is developing an innovative web-based tool called myHEALTHPlan that will improve communication between people living with multiple chronic conditions and their health care providers, and allow patients to take a greater proactive role in planning and meeting their health care needs. “Patients will benefit from a much more coordinated and patient-centred approach from their health practitioners because they will partner with their family doctor to develop a complete plan for their health care needs,” says Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon. “When patients have a greater say in their care planning along with the tools to help them better manage their care needs, they can live healthier lives – myHEALTHPlan will help achieve that goal.” Typically, people with multiple conditions visit several different health care providers. These providers do not always, or immediately, share information with each other, and patients find themselves repeating their story to each provider, which can cause confusion, duplication and the omission of important information. The goal of myHEALTHPlan is to improve information sharing among a patient’s team of health care providers. Using the technology in myHEALTHPlan, the primary care physician will be able to bring together treatment plans from all providers involved in the patient’s care, to develop a single, comprehensive care plan. With the patient’s permission, their myHEALTHPlan can be shared with the other care providers through a secure website. Essential medical information, treatment plans and patient goals are included, making it a complete plan to address a patient’s chronic care needs. Designated members of the patient’s health care team can access the information, and patients can log in to securely access their myHEALTHPlan to view their self-management goals and progress. A patient can decide what medical information they want shared. myHEALTHPlan also improves information-sharing between the hospital emergency room and the family physician. If a patient visits the emergency room, that information will be sent electronically to the family doctor to inform further planning. Currently, family doctors are not always notified if a patient visits a hospital emergency room. myHEALTHPlan will receive $2.7 million from Canada Health Infoway and $1 million from the Ministry of Health Services for the project’s development, which will start in 2010 in White Rock / South Surrey. “Chronic disease management tools like myHEALTHPlan empower Canadians to take a more active role monitoring their own health care and form an important piece of an electronic health record,” said Richard Alvarez, CEO of Canada Health Infoway. ”Having access to up-to-date and accurate information is essential for patients managing chronic disease in addition to the health professionals who care for them.” Canada Health Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government. Infoway jointly invests with every province and territory to accelerate the development and adoption of electronic health record projects in Canada. Fully respecting patient confidentiality, these secure systems will provide clinicians and patients with the information they need to better support safe care decisions and manage their own health. Accessing this vital information quickly will help foster a more modern and sustainable health care system for all Canadians. “myHEALTHPlan is a ground-breaking component of Fraser Health’s myHEALTHSystem, which coordinates various systems to streamline information flow, while protecting a person’s privacy to the highest degree,” says Dr. Nigel Murray, President and CEO for Fraser Health. “This work will help maximize time and resources, while improving the quality of care and the patient’s experience as they navigate the health care system.” myHEALTHPlan is scheduled to be operational by late fall 2010, with expansion planned for other communities after the demonstration is evaluated. - 30 – For More Information: Fraser Health Media Pager Dan Strasbourg |