7
Volume2 Issue6
|
CDA
at
W
ork
D
iscussions about ElectronicHealth
Records (EHRs) indentistryhave
beenongoingover the lastdecade.
Almost 8years ago, I participated in
aworkshopon this subject hosted
by theBritishColumbiaDental Associationand
similar initiativeshavebeenheldbyother pro-
vincial dental associationsover theyears.
Thediscussions aroundEHRs—andmore
broadly, digital health—havebeen sustainedby
avisionof healthier Canadians throughbetter
access tocareand improved safetyandefficiency
in thehealthcare system. Thegoal is tohave
ahealth record for everyCanadian stored ina
database,witheachprovincehavingat least one
central database. For some, theultimategoal is
toachieveconnectivityamong thedatabases
so that healthcareproviders across thecountry
wouldhaveaccess to their patient’s EHR from
offices, hospital clinics andemergency rooms—
regardlessof thepatient’splaceof residence.
Funding in support of this visioncomesmostly
fromvarious levelsof government andCanada
Health Infoway, a federally funded, not-for-
profit corporationestablished in2001.
Workingwith theprovinces and territories,
CanadaHealth Infowayhasmade signifi-
cant investments indigital healthprojects.
Wenowhavemany functional (albeit
compartmentalized) provincial, regional
and local EHR systems. But communica-
tionbetween these systems falls short of
theconnectivityenvisioned for EHRs.
Thedental professioncan look to the
progress that’sbeenmade
in thepublicly funded
areasof healthcare,
whereEHRshavebeen
prioritized, to imagine
thepotential for im-
provingpatient care.
Within thehospital
system, regional or
provincial healthauthoritieshave systems for
housing laboratoryand imagingdataand some
have links toprovincial pharmacy systems.
Establishingbetter connections among thevar-
ioushealthcareproviders involved inapatient’s
care remains a significant challenge. However,
some important elements arealready inplace
to support theuseof EHRs indentistry. For
example, CDADigital IDshave thepotential to
electronicallyverify the identityof adentist seek-
ingaccess to their patient’s EHR. And through its
involvement in theUniformSystemof Coding
andList of Services, CDAnet, and ITRANS, CDA
has cultivated theexpertiseneeded to support
thedevelopmentof standards required for EHRs.
Organizeddentistrymust continueour efforts
toconvincegovernments that dentistsneed
access toEHRs toobtain informationabout
their patient’shealthhistory, provide relevant
information toother healthcareproviders, and
contribute to thedevelopment of decision sup-
port tools. As individual dentists,we should look
for practicemanagement software that enables
us tocommunicatewith, obtaindata from, and
contribute toacentral EHR.
Weareall still learninghow innovations indigital
healthmight influence thewaywepractise
dentistry. Threearticles in this edition try to shed
some light on this topic: Dr. Benoit Soucy talks
aboutwhat’sneeded toget dentistryconnect-
ed toEHRs (p. 9); Dr. Jennifer Zelmer discusses
wheredentistryfits intoCanada’sdigital health
priorities (p. 26); andDr. AlyssaHayes sharesher
storyof using telehealth togive kids innorthern
communities access tooral healthcare (p. 28).
Digital health, and specificallyEHRs, arechang-
inghowhealthcare isdeliveredanddentistry is
ready toparticipate.
AlastairNicoll, bdsh
ons
From thePresident
Preparing forChange
ElectronicHealthRecords:
