LTC centre makes use of family portal

TORONTO and OTTAWA – The Meighen Health Centre, which is run by the Canadian Salvation Army, has become the first not-for-profit LTC home in Canada to open up its patient records to families. It’s doing it via a patient portal, something that’s widely used in hospitals but hasn’t been adopted in Canada’s long-term care centres.

“Technologically, we are way behind all other sectors,” said Monica Klein-Nouri, executive director of the Meighen Health Centre, speaking to CTV News. I said, “’This is something that I want to be the first to do.’”

In March, the Isabel and Arthur Meighen Manor began offering access to Engage Plus, a Canadian-developed software program with an app that connects family members with residents’ medical files. About 140 of the 160 families are now connected, with surveys showing 84 percent use the app regularly, reducing the need for time-consuming calls to staff about their loved ones’ well-being.

“You feel comfortable and it’s just a relief knowing that they’re OK,” said Teresa Korogyi. Her 90-year-old mother lives at the Manor. Korogyi said that her family is notified when her mother’s medical file is updated with new medications, vitals and notes from staff.

“I don’t have to call them or I don’t have to chase them for information about my mother. It’s all there. It’s at my fingertips,” she said. At the same time, nurses have benefited from the software, as they have a reduced need to contact family members about procedures at the facility – the software can automatically alert them.

Now, when nursing staff update a resident’s chart, they update the link in the patient portal, sending family members a notification.

“Before, you would have to call and spend a lot of time because a family is not available,” said Emma Odicta, a registered nurse at the Manor. Some families required repeated calls before they could be reached, and some families wanted updates every day.

The home says it pays about $2 a month per resident, and that early results suggest this new system is cutting about three hours a day off nursing shifts, time that then can be spent elsewhere. “It’s really nice, and now we can spend time with the resident,” said Odicta.

Nouri-Klein says it has changed their workflow “completely.”

“The genesis of this idea was, ‘Let’s help the staff, let’s cut the phone calls,’” said Varsha Chaugai (pictured), a biomedical engineer in Ottawa. She and her husband, Graham Fraser, heard about the strain on LTC staff as they tried to communicate with families by phone during the pandemic.

Chaugai says they were surprised to learn that while many Canadian hospitals have portals like “My Chart” that allow patients to see their medical records, there was nothing available for Canada’s long-term care homes.

“All the information that we are showing is already being charted in their electronic medical record,” she said. “The homes can choose what information they want to share: medications, blood sugar, physician notes (and) care plans.”

The product made by their company, Evoke Health, was quickly successful in the U.S., and is now installed in some 20 homes, said Chaugai, adding it’s used by about 4,000 families.

But Canada, she said, was a much harder sell.

The Salvation Army home was the first to get a demonstration, one attended by Frank Pickersgill, a member of the family council. After seeing the demo, the retired businessman said he pushed for its adoption at the Isabel and Arthur Meighen Manor.

“Communication was so sporadic and so hit and miss,” said Pickersgill, whose wife, Maureen, lived there until she died this spring. While he wasn’t tech-savvy, he says, he found the app easy to use and helpful.

And he saw alternate uses for the technology.

“Whether the TV was not working right, or the food not appropriate, it’s such a simple and obvious way to get communication,” said Pickersgill.

The Evoke software provides secure communication between families and caregivers – reducing the telephone tag that often takes place in long-term care centres.

Other features include care conferences that bring families and their caregivers together. The conferences can be scheduled and bring together the various care-team members, such as nurses, social workers and family members. Automated reminders can be sent to participants, along with RSVPs that enable them to confirm their attendance.

The system also offers appointment booking; families can view upcoming resident appointments, and book visitations and events.