Local hospitals launch new patient portal

Stacey LePage, Patient, Family and Caregiver working group member, reviews her upcoming appointment information on the new my health care patient portal available to all who receive care at Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH – Collingwood), Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH – Midland), Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC – Orangeville) and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH – Barrie).

Four local hospitals have launched a new patient portal, aptly named my health care, allowing patients to become more actively engaged in their own healthcare journey.

Patients who receive care at Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH – Collingwood), Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH – Midland), Headwaters Health Care Centre (HHCC – Orangeville) and Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH – Barrie) now have direct access through the portal to their hospital medical information, including test results, medication history and scheduled appointments.

“The portal makes my own healthcare journey accessible to me,” says Stacey LePage, patient, family and caregiver portal working group member. “It puts my personal care information at my fingertips which in turn makes me more confident in navigating a system that I am not familiar with. I feel empowered having the tools to be an active participant in my care.”

The portal, which can be accessed at any time through any device, allows patients to easily share their information with family members, caregivers or other members of their care circle at their discretion. After being signed-off by the physician, most information is immediately available, though medical imaging and pathology reports will take 14 days to appear in the patient’s portal.

“Now that I am re-entering treatment, I am looking forward to having the ability to view and review the notes and my prognosis from my home where I am able to process information at my own pace and at a time that works for me,” says LePage.

Patients can provide their email address to the hospital while registering for an appointment or procedure or by emailing portalsupport@myhealthcareportal.ca to view their health information obtained from all four hospitals from April 1, 2022, onward. Visit history prior to April 1 is viewable, but health information regarding these visits is only accessible through the treating hospitals’ Health Records department.

“No matter where you receive care across our four hospitals, your information will be added to a secure, electronic file that allows your care team to have immediate access to vital information while providing you with access to your own health information,” says Dave Brewin, regional chief information officer.

The addition of the patient portal was made possible by a large-scale health information system transformation among the four hospitals in September 2021. The partner hospitals implemented MEDITECH Expanse, which has created one shared electronic medical record across all four organizations. The system enables a more seamless flow of information from department to department and hospital to hospital.

“COVID-19 has placed technology under a microscope, magnifying the need to ensure modern technology systems are in place,” says Brewin. “Implementing MEDITECH Expanse allowed our hospitals to move to a one patient, one record approach – a big win for the communities we collectively serve.”