The new Hospital Information System, which goes live, will help make visits to the hospital easier on caregivers so they can focus more on supporting their care recipient.
Being a caregiver is a privilege and grave responsibility – and everything in between.
Few things underscore the spectrum of the job more than a trip to the Emergency Department, especially when a caregiver has to share key details about their care recipient’s health history. In addition to being an advocate and support for the person in their care, the caregiver often has to remember and manage prescriptions, recall dates of past procedures and specialist appointments, and timelines of diagnosed conditions.
The stress and urgency of the situation can make it difficult to accurately recall everything an attending physician or nurse may ask.
The good news is Niagara Health’s new Hospital Information System (HIS) will take the pressure off caregivers to repeatedly recall the stories of their loved ones to care teams.
For starters, all patient information stored in the current patchwork of records and booking tools used at Niagara Health will be migrated over to the new HIS. That includes critical information such as height, weight, allergies, medical and non-medical orders, including medications prescribed by hospital physicians and lab work orders, and any outpatient appointments for attending healthcare providers to refer to and cross-reference with information provided by the caregiver.
Once the caregiver relays their care recipient’s story to an attending physician or nurse, they also won’t have to continue to repeat it to every new person introduced to a patient’s healthcare journey. All they’ll need to do after that point is validate and verify their care recipient’s information to any new physicians, nurses or allied health team members.
“The story is already described in the system and instead of repeating the story, you’re starting the experience with a high level of trust,” says Dr. Ben Tam, Digital Strategy Physician Lead with the HIS. “Instead of uncertainty whether everyone knows the patient’s story, everything is more tightly integrated.”
Thanks to the HIS, caregivers will also be provided a hard copy of any patient discharge instructions, notes on the visit and required follow-up. Appointments that need to take place at the hospital can also be booked on the HIS.
Once home, caregivers can review all information about their care recipient on Connect My Health, a web-based patient portal that provides access to patient records, which can also be shared with other healthcare providers to ensure accurate and proper care in the community.
