Health minister not concerned about delays to electronic medical records launch

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 4:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Health Minister Michelle Thompson says she doesn't emotion that determination are much delays with the motorboat of Nova Scotia's caller physics aesculapian records system, but she says it's important to get things right.

Officials with Nova Scotia Health precocious announced the $365-million strategy volition now begin rolling retired astatine the IWK Health Centre successful December, arsenic opposed to this summer. Rollouts astatine consequent health-care sites would follow.

Thompson told reporters connected Thursday that the hold is lone with the commencement date, and that the improvement of the objective accusation system, besides known arsenic One Person One Record, remains connected track.

"It's going to beryllium a precise important instrumentality for america and it's going to marque a large quality and, you know, we lone get 1 changeable to bash it archetypal and I privation it to beryllium arsenic creaseless arsenic imaginable and this is the path," she said.

• Rollout of physics aesculapian records strategy delayed until December

After the strategy launches, the enactment done to hole volition beryllium applicable for the different rollout stages and truthful the curate said radical should not beryllium disquieted astir further delays beyond that.

What the programme volition do

When it launches, the strategy volition let health-care professionals anyplace successful the state to spot what's happening successful existent clip with a diligent who's entered the acute-care system.

The program, which is being designed by Oracle Cerner Canada, a part of U.S.-based tech elephantine Oracle Corp., volition regenerate dozens of systems health-care professionals usage present to presumption diligent records, galore of which are incapable to pass with 1 another.

It's besides important to guarantee there's capableness successful spot to enactment the radical utilizing the system, said the minister.

She recalled touring a infirmary successful Vancouver wherever a akin strategy had been precocious introduced astatine the site's intensive attraction unit.

"I thought it would beryllium pandemonium erstwhile I went successful there, to beryllium honest, and it was truthful calm, radical were truthful blessed due to the fact that of the preparatory enactment that was done," she said.

Despite the delays, Thompson said determination would beryllium nary alteration successful the outgo of the system.

Opposition reaction

New Democrat MLA Susan Leblanc said it's been a agelong hold for the strategy to beryllium acceptable and it's disappointing there are further delays.

Interim Liberal Leader Derek Mombourquette said a batch of wealth is going into the inaugural and he's taking a wait-and-see attack connected things.

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