SickKids to switch on new EHR in June

TORONTO – The Hospital for Sick Children is aiming to go live with its new, Epic-based electronic health record system on June 2nd. According to the hospital, the system will fundamentally change the way SickKids provides care.

Currently, SickKids uses numerous systems, combined with paper charts, to document patient information. Staff are required to spend time looking for information in multiple places when looking after patients. The new system, by contrast, will be fully integrated; all patient information will be in one system with real-time access to the information the care provider needs.

The entire care team will have access in real-time to a child’s health information. This means patients and families will spend less time repeating their information as they interact with different staff throughout the hospital.

As well, patients and their families will be able to access their health information through the MyChart – an online patient portal. They will view personal health information, upcoming appointments and lab results. There is even the functionality to send a message directly to their care team. MyChart will be rolled out in a phased approach, with all clinics on MyChart by the end of December 2018.

Upon discharge, after a clinic visit or a visit to the Emergency Department, every patient will receive an After Visit Summary – a comprehensive document listing treatment details and instructions, medication list and upcoming appointments.

Every patient will wear a new and improved patient ID band that will include a barcode. If medication needs to be given, the medication will be scanned and the ID band will be scanned. This ensures that the right medication is given to the right patient at the right time. Patients with allergies will easily be identified in our contrasting black ID bands. Patients without allergies will have white ID bands.

No more paper! Not only is SickKids saving trees, it is eliminating lost documentation and transcription errors because all information will be electronic.

The various clinics and research teams will all be connected so they can easily coordinate clinical and research appointments.