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A new international survey of doctors finds that patients still have a tough time getting timely access to care in Canada, which ranks below eight other industrialized countries. The country ranks below average in 19 out of 28 areas measured in total, but at the same time shows some signs of improvement.
Initial survey results released in December 2015 revealed that EMR use among Canadian primary care physicians tripled in the past nine years (73 per cent versus 23 per cent). New analysis released today includes provincial EMR adoption rates, benefits being realized and advanced use patterns.
“In a relatively short period of time, the rate of EMR adoption and use in Canada has reached strong levels,” explained Lynne Zucker, Vice President, Canada Health Infoway. “What we see in the Commonwealth Fund survey results is that here and globally there is opportunity to further advanced EMR use to fully realize the benefits to patients and the health care system.”
Most provinces saw growth in EMR use since the previous survey in 2012. Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario continue to have the highest adoption rates in Canada. Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan experienced the highest increases in EMR uptake by primary care physicians since 2012.
Physicians with EMRs report the ability to better manage their patients’ care compared to physicians operating without an EMR:
- 79 per cent of physicians with EMRs report that they are able to generate a computerized list of patients by diagnosis compared to 20 per cent without an EMR
- 70 per cent can generate a list of all medications taken by an individual patient compared to 17 per cent without an EMR
- 62 per cent are able to produce a list of patients overdue for tests or preventative care compared to those without an EMR at 11 per cent
Canadian primary care physicians using EMRs are more likely to use some functionalities that support patient care and less likely to use others, when compared to the 10 country average from the Commonwealth Fund survey. For instance:
- They are more likely to:
- Receive and review data on patients who received recommended preventive care (41 per cent versus 36 per cent internationally)
- Receive reminders for guideline-based interventions and/or screening tests (34 per cent versus 30 per cent)
- They are less likely to:
- Receive alerts and reminders for potential problems with medication doses or interactions (55 per cent versus 76 per cent internationally)
- Track all laboratory tests ordered until results reach clinicians (34 per cent versus 51 per cent)
- Send reminders to patients for regular preventive or follow-up care (22 per cent versus 48 per cent)
Additionally, the survey also highlighted two areas of digital health that present significant opportunities to provide further value to Canadians:
- Information exchange: 19 per cent of primary care physicians say they can electronically exchange patient clincial summaries with doctors outside of their practice
- Consumer services: 15 per cent of primary care physicians say they offer patients the option to email them about medical questions or concerns and 11 per cent offer patients the means to request an appointment or referral online
Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) co-invested with most of the provinces and territories in Canada to encourage EMR use in community-based physicians’ offices. Many EMR systems are also connected to electronic health record (EHR) systems outside the practice, which provides access to valuable clinical information, such as lab results, medication information, or hospital discharge reports. As of September 30, 2015, over 19,000 community-based physicians and/or nurse practitioners are benefitting from Infoway EMR investments.
Agencies/Canadajournal/Press Releases
