Nova Scotia is rolling out a unified digital health record system designed to give medical providers instant access to a patient's complete medical history, a move officials believe could serve as a blueprint for other provinces.
A Single Source of Truth for Patient Care
The initiative, named One Person One Record (OPOR), went live last month at the Izaak Walton Killam (IWK) Health Centre in Halifax. The plan is to have the system operational across the entire province by the end of this year. The core promise is to eliminate the fragmented paper and digital records that have long forced patients to repeat their health history and caused delays in treatment.
"The clinical information system reduces a patient’s need to repeat health history for each provider and streamlines appointment scheduling and transitions between providers and care settings," explained Nova Scotia's Health and Wellness Minister, Michelle Thompson.
Modernizing Care and Combating Doctor Shortages
Dr. Krista Jangaard, President and CEO of IWK Health, highlighted the system's power to consolidate information from ambulatory clinics, emergency visits, mental health services, and inpatient care into one up-to-date file. This integration is intended to prevent duplicate tests and support faster clinical decisions.
The project also addresses a critical challenge: attracting and retaining healthcare professionals. With approximately 68,000 people on the waitlist for a family doctor in Nova Scotia, the province has identified outdated paper records as a significant deterrent for new physicians. A 2022 report found that medical students and incoming doctors viewed the province's reliance on paper as a negative factor.
Minister Thompson positioned the new portal as "another attractive option to recruit and retain healthcare professionals who want to work in modern facilities with modern tools." The system is being operated by Oracle Health Canada under a 10-year, $365-million contract and will be accessible to more than 26,000 medical providers.
Implementation Hurdles and Long-Term Benefits
The launch has not been without minor growing pains. Dr. Howard Conter, Vice-President for Medical Operations at Halifax's Signature Health clinic, noted some startup issues but clarified the problem was with implementation readiness, not the system itself.
"It was the implementation, because a lot of the people just hadn't paid attention to the fact that we were approaching the starting line," Dr. Conter said. He emphasized there was never "any danger to patients or patient care."
Despite early hiccups, Dr. Conter praised the new format for providing a coherent, typed record instead of the often-illegible "freehand" notes of the past. The system allows providers, patients, and parents to see a complete file rather than information scattered in "bits and pieces." Primary care providers are already reporting they receive timelier updates when their patients are treated in hospitals, enhancing continuity of care.
As Nova Scotia pushes forward with this ambitious digital transformation, all eyes will be on whether One Person One Record can deliver on its promise to streamline healthcare and become a replicable model for the rest of Canada.
