Nova Scotia Health has paused the text message notification feature for appointments on the YourHealthNS app.. (Nova Scotia Government YouTube channel)
Nova Scotia Health is still working on glitches in its new text message and appointment reminder service through the YourHealthNS app.
It suspended the new features last Wednesday when some people reported getting incorrect information about their appointments.
At least 2,100 texts, or about 10 per cent of all messages, were sent to phones with the wrong information. Other messages weren’t clear whether the appointment was in-person or virtual. And some got notices of appointments that didn’t even exist.
Nova Scotia Health said Monday that it has introduced a seven-day delay before appointments appear in the YourHealthNS app.
Appointments will only appear for the coming month. And notifications will be stopped on specialist appointments not made through hospital booking systems, like private clinics.
The text message reminder feature will be on hold while officials test the changes and make sure they work properly, Nova Scotia Health said.
Michelle Thompson, Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister, announces at a news conference on Wednesday that the YourHealthNS app will be expanded to all Nova Scotians over 16. (Communications Nova Scotia via Zoom)
The Nova Scotia government is expanding access to a $15-million smartphone app that lets patients see their own medical records.
The government gave early access to 13,824 patients in six clinics around the province from January to April to the YourHealthNS app. One of those clinics was Queens Family Health in Liverpool.
After gathering feedback from users in the pilot, it announced Wednesday that anyone over 16 with a valid Nova Scotia health card can now download the app and access its features.
The biggest draw of the app is the ability for people to access their own medical records, prescriptions, lab and test results and immunizations. It also allows you to see your hospital, clinic or other medical appointments.
Patients can also schedule some appointments through the app.
Michelle Thompson is Nova Scotia’s health and wellness minister. She said the app helps give Nova Scotians control over their own health care.
“We started small with a test-and-try approach, but the results were huge,” Thompson said at a Wednesday news conference. “Those who used it liked it. It improved their health care experience, gave them more control over their care, but most importantly, it put health care back in their hands.
“You can now carry your medical history in your pocket wherever you go.”
Officials with Nova Scotia Health told reporters at a technical briefing that more than 300,000 Nova Scotians have already downloaded the app.
Of the pilot project participants, 98 per cent said they would continue to use the app, while 30 per cent said they felt they didn’t need to see their primary care provider because they had access to their records.
Officials could not say how many people actually used the app. They said that because of privacy concerns, they did not track individual users and how they used the app. The information came from a voluntary feedback survey in the app. Officials did not know how many people responded to the survey.
“We know from our evaluation here but also from other jurisdictions around the world, this empowers patients,” said Dr. Aaron Smith, medical executive director, Northern Zone, and provincial medical executive director.
“This allows patients to manage their own health. And the impact on providers is also profound. We know folks feel more engaged in their health, they better understand their health. It allows a significant numbers of folks to avoid unnecessary visits to both emergency department and primary care facilities. It allows physicians to really focus on what they need to do, which is care of acutely ill people.”
The YourHealthNS app has cost the government $15 million in total, with $2 million of that spent on the pilot project and another $3 million for the rollout to all of Nova Scotia.
Officials said Wednesday that protecting people’s privacy was one of their primary concerns.
“We are ensuring that people’s information is safe and citizens can see their own information and other than a few folks who will do audit functions to ensure everything is fine, there will be nobody else that can see that information,” Thompson said.
During the pilot phase, some participants in Queens County said that they either had no information available or the information they saw changed from day to day. Others said they could see all their records.
Scott McKenna, chief information officer for Nova Scotia Health, said that everybody should be able to see their health records now.
“Those are the lessons we’ve learned from the pilot. Now we’ve matched records a little bit differently, put some new algorithms in place to make sure we’re matching records based with a high level of confidence on health card number and date of birth. … Those individuals would see their health records now.”
Thompson said she’s confident that people will see information that’s reliable and up to date.
“The point of a test and try is that we bring individuals into the pilot. We understand the technology, we understand the interface with the people who are using the technology and we build on their feedback and their experience.
“We’re very grateful to those initial pilot participants. It really gave us the opportunity to understand the app, build the app, get their feedback, see what the experience was and move on from there. And so I feel very confident in the team and their ability to continue to deliver the iterations of this app. And I do believe the app will be of huge benefit to Nova Scotians.”
More records like primary care visits with doctors, nurse practitioners or through pharmacy clinics will be added over the coming months, Thompson said, with the goal of having all of that information available by the end of September.
Rosalee Smith is one of the Queens County residents participating in the YourHealthNS app pilot project. (Rick Conrad)
It’s been about six weeks since the Nova Scotia government launched a pilot project to allow some Nova Scotians to check their medical records through the YourHealthNS app.
Some 12,000 patients at four clinics around the province were given early access to their lab and X-ray results, list of medications, and visits to the ER and their primary care provider.
Nova Scotia Health says it’s part of giving people more involvement and control over their care, and to help them make more informed decisions.
About 3,700 patients at Queens Family Health in Liverpool are eligible to participate. The other project sites are in New Waterford, Westville and Greenwood.
For some, it’s been a frustrating experience.
Rosalee Smith of Eagle Head said she was eager to sign on to the app when she heard about the pilot project.
“I found it frustrating, because I guess my original understanding (was) perhaps there was going to be a little more information available than maybe what there is.”
Smith says she seems to get different information every time she checks the app.
“I’m not sure how valuable that piece will be until I understand what the information’s supposed to provide. I’ve gone on to the app several times. And sometimes there’s records there and sometimes there isn’t. I’ve never seen any records of my primary care visits, never seen any records of my blood work results.”
A week after initially speaking to QCCR, Smith said she could see a partial list of her medications, her lab results, ER visits, but no bloodwork results and no primary care visits.
Her mother, who has a different primary care provider, was able to see all of her health visits, but her medications and lab results were incomplete.
She says friends of hers had the same experience — sometimes their records were there and sometimes they were incomplete. She said other people told her their records were complete.
Smith filled out three feedback surveys through the app. When she didn’t get a response, she contacted Nova Scotia Health directly and sent a two-page form to correct her medical record.
She even left a comment on a sponsored Facebook post on the weekend from Nova Scotia Health about the app.
No one had responded to any of her concerns, until Wednesday afternoon, when she got a reply in response to her Facebook comment. She was told her complaint was forwarded to the department’s technology department and that someone would contact her directly.
“I think it’s a good app,” Smith says.
“I think the features and the types of things that we’re trying to put out here for information, it’s good. But let’s do it right. And if we’re in the pilot project, listen to us when we make the comments.”
Andrew Danylewich of Liverpool checked the app when the pilot project launched. He said he was able to see only a list of his hospital and health visits. And that hasn’t changed since.
“But I haven’t been able to see my labs and medications. I did check to see if my prescriptions were up and they weren’t there yet. It’s not terribly useful yet, but I can see potential in the future once they get it rolling properly.”
Officials with Nova Scotia Health said this week that patients are giving them some good feedback on the app, and that people seem eager to use it.
Scott McKenna, chief information officer with Nova Scotia Health, said in an interview on Monday that if people send their questions or concerns via the survey, someone is supposed to follow up.
“We need to ensure that we’re getting back to every citizen,” he said.
“Our teams are doing a really good job at that. Obviously, there are some individuals who we need to get back to on that. The intention of our staff is to look into every issue. … Because we have to make sure it works as it’s intended to work.”
Dr. Tara Sampalli is Nova Scotia Health’s senior director of implementation science and evaluation and global health systems planning.
She said department staff review the feedback every week so they can address concerns as they come up.
“Everybody is reviewing everything. Nothing is going unnoticed. We improve in real time. And that’s part of this. We want to hear. You’re providing us some really good information from the community and what people are seeing or not seeing.”
McKenna says that overall, response to the app has been positive. And that it seems to working for the majority of participants. But he urges people to keep sending feedback on the app, even though they may be frustrated.
He said staff are trying to consolidate records from disparate parts of the health care system, and that they’d rather give an incomplete record than an incorrect one.
The pilot project runs to the end of March. Those who have access to their records now won’t lose it when the pilot is over.
Sampalli says the department is working on a broader information update for Nova Scotians.
Rosalee Smith says she looks forward to that.
“I don’t want it to be political. This is about our health. So I think it’s good progress. I’m not here to bash. My point is if it’s not going to work right or if it’s got issues, then let’s figure out how to fix the issues.”
