NS to launch long-awaited EHR in spring

HALIFAX – Medical professionals in Nova Scotia’s central zone will finally get to experience a streamlined patient records system next spring. One Person One Record, or OPOR, has been talked about for more than a decade, and is a solution to Nova Scotia’s outdated tracking systems that see healthcare providers rely on phones, emails and paper records to track their patients.

Nova Scotia Health had planned to launch the new system in the central zone in stages starting in November, but that timeline changed. Now, the entire central zone will switch over at the same time on May 9, 2026.

“This is the largest healthcare transformation in Nova Scotia’s history. We want to ensure the system and the users are set up for success,” the health authority said in a statement.

“It also means everyone will be using the same system across central zone, which will help those who work at multiple sites.”

OPOR will be rolled out at the IWK Health Centre, which operates as separate health entity, on Dec. 6.

The wait in the central zone is to be expected, said Dr. Amanda MacDonald Green (pictured), a family physician in Windsor, N.S., and the president-elect of Doctors Nova Scotia.

“Obviously we’re all excited for this technology and see the value. But I think given the scope, it’s not surprising that there’s going to be delays,” she said.

Dr. MacDonald Green said she sees examples where the new system will change her workflow every day.

She recently met with a patient who had been released from hospital one week prior to their appointment, but MacDonald Green didn’t have his discharge notes.

“He was in my office … and I don’t really know what went on,” she said. Instead, she had to get her administrative staff to call around and try to find answers.

Once OPOR is implemented, she said primary care providers will be able to log on and see all the information they need about their patients’ hospital visits and test results.

The program will initially focus on acute care visits, but MacDonald Green said down the road, family doctors will likely be given access to add their own records.

“Even having access to see a patient’s medical journey in hospital or all testing, I think is going to be of benefit to us all, and to the patient.”

Nova Scotia Health points out that this is more than just a technology upgrade, but a fundamental change to how the healthcare system will function.

The province’s Health Department previously said that on average, healthcare professionals use five different systems to track a patient’s health information.

This effort will replace or connect more than 80 programs that are currently in place.

Nearly everyone who works in health care – even food service providers – will see their workflow change once the system is switched over.

“I’d be ready to turn it on tomorrow,” said Dr. MacDonald Green. “There’s obviously enthusiasm and we’re looking forward to it being done.”

The Nova Scotia government previously said it would spend $365 million on the contract for the new digital records system. It’s unclear if the new timeline will raise the cost.

Nova Scotia Health said it is nearly done the hiring process for support staff who will lead the integration of OPOR. Dates for the remaining zones in the province have not yet been announced.

Source: CBC News