Unity Health’s new electronic patient record will create more equitable care experience
As Unity Health prepares for the launch of its new electronic patient record (EPR), patients and families are reflecting on how it will transform their care experiences.
The EPR system, delivered by Epic Systems, includes a new patient portal, MyChart powered by Epic. The portal will allow patients to access their health information, view their medications and test results, populate their health information, schedule appointments, and grant access to loved ones or caregivers to more easily support their health care journey.
As Harry Ennis, a Patient and Family Partner at Unity Health since 2022, pointed out, the new system will create opportunities for more equitable care. Patients will be able to enter or change information about sexual orientation and gender identity, meaning care providers will immediately have access to that information. Patients will also be able to enter their own accommodations for disabilities so care teams can prepare accordingly and seamlessly for appointments.
This story is part of a series on the launch of Unity Health’s new electronic patient record (EPR) system, powered by Epic Systems. These stories recognize the many people who made this project possible, and provide important information for Unity Health patients and caregivers as they plan to navigate the new system when it launches on November 30, 2024.
“We always say ‘knowledge is power’,” said Ennis. “Now we have greater access to our own records and can be better prepared, and better able to participate as an equal with our health care teams.”
Patient and Family Partners, along with Unity Health’s Equity of Access Committee, staff, physicians and other working groups, worked to ensure that the EPR and MyChart will be accessible for patients who live with visual, hearing or cognitive impairments, and that it supports multiple languages, cultural preferences and beliefs.
Ennis and fellow Patient and Family Partner Bev Lennox say that including people with lived experiences in the design process is essential to making the system user-friendly, particularly for users with limited technical skills.
“Often there are insights staff can gain from having those voices at the table of how things have worked, how things can be improved and simply what will and won’t work from a patient point of view,” said Ennis.
Lennox, who has also been a patient at St. Michael’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Health Centre, says that she is looking forward to populating her own information in MyChart.
Online check-in and automatic appointment notification features through the system will also improve the flow of administrative tasks and hopefully reduce wait times.
Dr. Trevor Jamieson, Chief Medical Informatics Officer at Unity Health, says that patients will have the ability to be more active in their own care with Epic.
“Patients have asked for more visibility into their medical history and test results,” says Jamieson. “They want more up to date information on their scheduled appointments, and they want our clinic staff to know things about them that they feel are important.”
With Epic, says Jamieson, “All of those things – and more – are possible.”
“It provides an excellent foundation to continually improve our patient experience.”