Houston Government announces technology to improve patient care in Nova Scotia

The Tim Houston PC Government is putting patients ahead of paperwork.

The new One Person One Record system will be installed at hospitals across Nova Scotia, allowing for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to spend less time taking care of paperwork, and more time taking care of Nova Scotians.

“For years, healthcare professionals have been frustrated because they don’t have access to the patient information they need, to provide faster and better care for their patients,” said Michelle Thompson, Minister of Health and Wellness. “It’s a big investment, but once fully implemented it can save time, provide more and better emergency care, reduce wait times for surgeries, cut down on duplicate and costly testing, and make Nova Scotia a more attractive option for healthcare workers.”

The system will replace or connect more than 80 systems health workers are using daily, giving them more time to focus on patient care.

“One Person One Record is a solution that is needed to change how our healthcare system communicates patient information between health professionals and services,” said Amanda Tinning, nurse practitioner for the Home Transitional Heart Failure Clinic. “As a nurse practitioner, I need access to patient information and to communicate information in minutes, not days. One Person One Record will allow health professionals to communicate efficiently, in order to provide the care that patients need effectively.”

The new system will:

  • Centralize the booking system to get Nova Scotians into surgery, faster
  • Give paramedics the ability to view patient health information on the way to a Emergency Department
  • Give family doctors, nurse practitioners, and other health workers quicker access to patient information
  • Connect Nova Scotia Health and IWK mental health clinics and SchoolsPlus, which supports universal mental healthcare
  • Require less space for records so new infrastructure projects have more space for beds
  • Give continuing care teams more information from residents' hospital visits so they can provide better care when the resident returns home.

More features will be added over time, including the ability for patients to access their own medical records.