By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Researchers at the University of Calgary gauging Albertans’ interest in patient health portals

Oct 30, 2017 | 6:09 AM

CALGARY – Researchers at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health’s Ward of the 21st Century within the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary are preparing to lead a province-wide study to explore Albertans’ views about having online access to their medical records at their fingertips.

All Canadians will soon have online access to their personal health information, but how will people use their health information and how often will they access it?

That’s what lead investigator for the study, Dr. Doreen Rabi an endocrinologist in the Department of Medicine at the CSM, is looking to find out.

“At the federal level there is a program in place to try to encourage all health jurisdictions to consider adopting patient health portals,” she said. “Patient health portals are tools to help people access information that has already been digitized, it allows them to have access to that information online safely and securely.”

Dr. Rabi also added that patient health portals have deemed as a priority within healthcare federally, but because healthcare is administered provincially the work they’re doing is specifically looking at how patients and Albertans feel about accessing the information online.

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“We’ve been looking at how we might be able to use digital technology and electronic communication technology to improve connectivity between patients and their health care teams. We have knowledge that there are tools out there that are being developed and being considered by the province, and what we’d like to know before any decisions are made to deploy those tools is how Albertans actually feel about being able to access their health information online and whether or not they would use these services if it were available to them,” Rabi said.

An example given of the benefit of online patient portals was when Sabrina Sullivan’s life completely changed when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just over a decade ago.

In addition to seeing health care providers on an ongoing basis, she now manages her health using many different technologies, including an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor.

She’s looking forward to a future where she has access to all her health records online when she needs detailed information about her past and current treatments.

“The more information you have about your own health, the more you are able to manage it,” Sullivan said. “I understand there are pros and cons to having that ability, but if you want access to your medical information, there shouldn’t be any barriers to you obtaining it. It’s your information, and it’s your health.”

Right now, to obtain any health records patients need to visit their health care provider in person, and there’s often a fee to having those records copied.

Dr. Rabi says an online patient portal system could enhance confidential interactions between the patient and their health care teams.

“This could potentially improve continuity of care and empower patients to be active participants in the management of their own health.”

Other jurisdictions, such as Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan are already implementing or piloting patient portals with the promise of significant improvements to patients and their health.

“I think the other thing to look at is that many of these tools being used in other jurisdictions like the U.S. and Europe usually include a social networking functioning,” Rabi continued. “It could be with health care providers or family and support members. So, we’d like to see how willing Albertans would be to share their information with people and if they would want the option of changing their agreement after a certain amount of time.”

The research team wants to hear from people throughout the province.

Findings from the study will be shared publicly with a variety of organizations to help increase knowledge and develop decisions around patient access to digital health information.
One issue that people might raise is that of security, but Dr. Rabi believes that shouldn’t be an issue.

“We have very specific regulations in the province around health information privacy, so any digital tool that would be deployed would have to adhere to those rules. There will be a lot of digital security in place to make sure that people’s health information is protected online. There must be a lot of attention given to how the information is going to be shared, and all of those connections are going to have to be incredibly secure,” she said.

The goal of any advancement in health care is to improve overall care, and try to cut down on the amount of time people spend at the hospital or doctor’s office getting treatment or information.

Dr. Rabi says one thing the research has shown is when people do have this kind of access to their health records, and they can see what’s going on, it often builds more trust.

“When all members of a health care team have access to the same records it improves the quality of care because things are less often missed with more eyes looking at things,” she added. “More people are offering ideas about how to deal with ailments, and that ensures the care moves along at a good pace. It prevents mistakes from happening because more eyes are making sure the right things are being done at the right time.”

To participate in the survey visit Albertans’ Views on Access to their Health Information. If you don’t have access to a computer you can take the survey over the phone 1-800-587-9580

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