By Allison Barss
When Halifax-based clinician Dr. Maria Alexiadis recently noticed that a patient had missed a scheduled appointment, she prepared to take her usual next steps of documenting the no-show.
As she opened the patient’s chart, she saw something she would not have been able to see in Nova Scotia Health’s previous systems: a real-time update showing the patient was in the emergency department being assessed after falling from a ladder.
"Right away, I was able to see where my patient was and that they were getting the health care they needed at that time," she says, sharing that it allowed her to plan how she would reconnect with them.
As a family physician with 38 years of experience in Nova Scotia, Dr. Alexiadis says that moment perfectly captured the value of the province’s new clinical information system (CIS), which rolled out across Central Zone and select Mental Health and Addictions Program services on May 9.
Currently serving as senior medical director for the Nova Scotia Health’s Primary Health Care Chronic Disease Management Network while also practicing as a psychiatrist with the Nova Scotia Early Psychosis Program, Dr. Alexiadis sees the CIS as a critical step in the province’s health care transformation.
"The biggest thing is health information and how we share it," she says. "If all the hospitals can speak with each other and the chart is shared by all, that benefits not only the clinician, but also the patient, who will no longer have to repeat the same information across different care settings.”
While acknowledging that adopting a new system comes with challenges, Dr. Alexiadis encourages physicians to keep the long-term vision in mind.
“You have to be patient," she says. "Help each other, listen to each other, and eventually it becomes second nature. Once you get over that initial hump, you start to see all the benefits."
She is also encouraged by the way lessons learned from each Wave are being used to improve the next. As more end users gain experience with the system, peer support and shared learning continue to strengthen the ongoing rollout across the province. “I would also like to thank our purple–vested people [on-site At-the-Elbow support wearing purple vests], who [were] an excellent resource and a great help,” she shares.
With the final implementation scheduled for November 14 across Northern, Western and Eastern Zones, Dr. Alexiadis shares that the new CIS is an investment that will deliver value long after the final implementation is complete.
"This is for the best," she says. "Stay patient. The benefits are coming, and they're worth it."
