Attending a medical appointment by yourself can be overwhelming. There’s often lots to remember – diagnoses, treatment plans, prescriptions, follow-up appointments. With Unity Health Toronto’s secure patient portal, MyChart, powered by Epic, patients can rest easy knowing that their appointment, care plan and next steps will be documented for them.

MyChart gives patients access to their health information online, anytime. Patients can use it to keep track of upcoming medical appointments, view lab and test results, see notes and summaries from hospital visits, complete pre-appointment tasks, and more.

“Everything is in one place, which is wonderful,” says Kate, a Patient and Family Partner (PFP) at Unity Health. PFPs are Unity Health patients, family members and volunteers who are involved in quality improvement initiatives across the three Unity Health sites.

“The notes are written in plain language so I can understand them, which takes the burden off of me having to take notes in real time at the appointment. That’s absolutely invaluable for everyone. It’s one less thing I have to worry about.”

MyChart is available for free on mobile phones, tablets and computers. Check out some of the many ways that MyChart is improving the patient and staff experience at Unity Health.

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Helping patients stay on top of their appointments

Since launching MyChart in December 2024, the no-show rate at Unity Health has decreased almost three per cent. This is due in large part to patients using MyChart to access features like appointment cancellations, upcoming appointment information and communication preferences.

MyChart allows patients to cancel appointments or submit cancellation requests directly from their smartphone, tablet or computer. This feature has helped with appointment attendance and reminders; patients receive a notification right away when their appointment has been changed.

“We had patients calling pretty much every day and asking if they had an appointment,” say members of the Administrative team in the Bariatric Centre of Excellence (BCoE) at Providence Healthcare. “With MyChart, patients spend less time on the phone, which makes things easier for them, and our team.”

“We’ve found that direct messaging through MyChart has been helpful,” adds Danielle Zvezdonkin, Clinical Nurse Specialist in the BCoE. “It’s decreased phone calls and emails to our admins, and it’s more secure. Patients feel reassured knowing that they’re communicating with their clinic – and we feel better knowing we’re communicating directly with the patient.”

In many clinics, patients can check in for their appointment from their devices, minimizing time spent in line at the registration desk.

“As someone who works in an office and travels to treatment sites, this is a huge time saver,” says Kate. “It makes my appointment days a whole lot easier.”

Empowering patients with their health information

MyChart gives patients access to their health information – including notes, summaries, lab and test results – as soon as it’s available, allowing patients to better connect with their care team.

“Having their information before their appointment allows them to make better use of the time they have with their physician and be more reflective during the appointment,” says Charmaine Mothersill, Clinical Manager of Cancer Care, Oncology and Endoscopy at St. Michael’s Hospital.

It also provides reassurance to patients, who may forget to ask questions or take notes during their appointment, or have several months before their next follow-up.

“We tell patients how much information they’re going to receive in this program, and how difficult it’ll be to remember it all,” says Alyssa Swartz, Social Worker in the BCoE. “We stress that MyChart is going to be super helpful in six months. If they don’t remember what vitamins they should be taking, they can look through their messages and re-download the list from the app.”

This empowers patients like Kate to play a more active role in their care journey. It also minimizes the burden of administrative tasks, like booking follow-up appointments or connecting with other clinicians to ensure that referrals were made or reports were sent appropriately.

“The onus is off of me worrying about whether my provider actioned what they said they would,” says Kate. “With MyChart, I can see that it’s happened.”

Improving the system to best meet the needs of Unity Health patients

With any large transformation, continued enhancements ensure that the system best meets the needs of its users. In September, Unity Health held a session with PFPs to understand their lived experience with MyChart, including what’s been working and areas for improvement.

Recommendations from PFPs included requests for different languages, a field for post-appointment information, and the ability to message their care team if they have simple questions after reading their reports.

“Sometimes after an appointment I review the report and there’s something I have a simple yes or no question about,” says Kate. “It would be nice if I could follow up quickly, instead of having to call the clinic or book a follow-up appointment. I also appreciate that this could get tricky if patients start using the tool to try and facilitate longer conversations.”

Following the session, analysts had a meeting to prioritize feedback and recommendations.

“We asked PFPs to give us three hours of their day, so we really need to action their feedback to make the system better,” says Hana Mohamed, Digital Care Experience Specialist, who leads the MyChart work at Unity Health. “We’ve done a lot of thinking. Now it’s time to figure out what’s possible in the system and what we can improve by increasing patient education.”

Despite the areas for improvement, Kate says the system is working well. And for those who aren’t technologically savvy, she says it’s easy to use.

“It doesn’t take much time to set up and it’s very straightforward,” she says. “The prompts are easy to follow and having everything in one place makes a world of difference. No more wondering where your information lives or when your next appointment is. I signed up for a reason, and I’m glad I did.”

To register or learn more about MyChart, please speak with a member of your care team or visit our website, https://unityhealth.to/mychart. Please note that MyChart is not currently available for patients of Unity Health’s Academic Family Health Teams.

By Anna Wasserman

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