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.
Some Nova Scotians will be able to access their medical records via the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
Patients at Queens Family Health in Liverpool will be providing valuable input to Nova Scotia Health over the next few weeks as part of a group of people around the province with early access to their health records on the YourHealthNS app.
About 3,700 patients of the clinic can sign up and see their doctor and ER visits, medications, test results and immunization record. They must have a valid Nova Scotia health card and be 16 or over.
It’s part of a pilot project involving the Queens clinic and three others around the province to give Nova Scotians easier access to their health records. In total, about 12,000 people are eligible to participate. The other clinics are in New Waterford, Westville and Greenwood.
Nova Scotia Health will be sending out letters to the eligible patients at Queens Family Health. But people can start using the app now.
Dr. Ashley Miller, the chief medical information officer with Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health, says it can be costly or cumbersome now for patients to get access to their own records.
“So I think people are really appreciative of having a single source of truthful information related to health care, but they’re very much wanting to access their own health data,” she said in a recent interview.
“And I see this in my own patient population all the time. It’s very valuable to have access to your own information so that you can appropriately self advocate but also so that you can do research on your own. You can consult your own network of friends, colleagues, family to make decisions about your own health.”
Miller says officials wanted diversity in demographics and geography for the pilot.
“We were looking for clinics who were early adopters, people who understand the importance and potential of digital transformation in enhancing the experience of Nova Scotians. So it was a combination of working with the willing but also looking to have a representative sample so we could really learn from this pilot experience and inform our next steps.”
Queens Family Health has five family physicians and one nurse practitioner. Miller said they were also looking for clinics who would give regular feedback and evaluate how care was affected by using the app.
One of the goals is to cut down on unnecessary visits to the doctor’s office to get test results. They’re already getting feedback from around the province.
“Twenty-nine per cent of people who answered this survey so far said yes that in fact it actually prevented the need for a visit. So in a health care system where we know the demand exceeds the capacity currently, the potential for patients to gain access to care without needing to book an appointment with a provider is really appealing.”
Miller says that within the first day of the project’s launch last week, more than 700 lab and diagnostic records were accessed.
As for privacy, Miller says she understands if some patients are hesitant.
“One of the benefits of this application is that none of the personal health information is stored in the actual application itself.”
And she says people don’t have to participate or use the app if they’re unsure. If you do, however, you can opt out at any time.
Scott McKenna, Nova Scotia Health’s chief information officer, says they’ve put privacy and security “front and centre”.
“One of the principles of this is that we would rather miss one of your health records than serve you up incorrect health records,” he said in an interview.
“We’ve done a lot of matching with a high level of confidence across multiple fields to make sure that record’s confidence before we serve it up. And we may even hold back on your health records becasue we weren’t sure.”
Miller says she’s also not concerned about people diagnosing themselves instead of visiting their doctor. In fact, she says, research has shown that it’s better to give patients more control over their information.
“Patients are better able to interpret their own health care experience and their medications and their treatment as well as advocate for themselves when they have access to their data.”
Miller says she encourages patients in the pilot project to give feedback on the app.
Some Nova Scotians will be able to access their medical records via the YourHealthNS app. (Communications Nova Scotia photo)
By Rick Conrad
Patients of Queens Family Health in Liverpool will be part of a pilot project that will give people access to their medical records through the YourHealthNS app.
About 12,000 patients at four clinics around Nova Scotia will get information from their clinic this week about how to log in to see their medical history.
The other participating clinics are the New Waterford Collaborative Practice, Westville Medical Clinic and Greenwood Family Health.
“We made it easier for Nova Scotians to navigate the healthcare system and now we’re taking it one step further by giving patients more access and control over their health information,” Premier Tim Houston said Tuesday in a news release.
“The addition of patient records makes it easy, convenient and faster for Nova Scotians to access their own information, all in one place, to better manage their own healthcare.”
Nova Scotia Health says patients can choose whether to participate and access their records. If they do, they’ll be able to see their complete health history.
That includes visits to their doctor or nurse practitioner, including date, time and reason; virtual care appointments; hospital and emergency department visits; their list of medications; lab results such as blood tests and information on diagnostic imaging scans like X-rays and MRIs.
The YourHealthNS app was launched in November 2023 at a cost of $10 million. It has been downloaded more than 175,000 times.
