Hundreds of thousands of patients to benefit from New Brunswick’s Provincial Electronic Medical Record Program

Hundreds of thousands of New Brunswick patients will soon be covered by electronic medical records under the provincial Electronic Medical Record program.

“357 physicians have enrolled in the provincial program, and will be implemented over the next two years,” said Dr Lynn Hansen, President of the New Brunswick Medical Society. “This will take our EMR adoption rate from almost the worst in the country to near the front of the pack.”

The system can already be found in the offices of dozens of family doctors and specialists, in French and English, and in fee-for-service and salaried practices. Velante has quickly become the largest EMR provider in the province in the four months since “go-live” of the system. Additional doctors are going live on a weekly basis.

“This is a key action item in our Care First health plan, which aims to provide better care for patients at a sustainable cost,” explained Dr Hansen. “Thanks to more EMRs, our health system will see cost savings through better referral processes, fewer missed appointments, and faster access to test results.”

The provincial EMR system, managed by a doctor-led company called Velante, improves the efficiency and productivity of physician offices. It reduces the time spent managing and searching through paper charts, so physicians can spend more time with patients. Doctors have predicted $6 million in savings to the New Brunswick health care system through wider adoption of EMRs.

“The support of Canada Health Infoway and the government of New Brunswick has been instrumental to this program’s success,” said Dr Hansen. “There’s more work to do, but this Program means millions of dollars in health savings annually – and more importantly, better patient care for New Brunswickers.”

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Media contact:

Andrew MacLean, New Brunswick Medical Society 
(506) 478-2436 - amaclean@nbms.nb.ca

Founded in 1867, the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS) is the professional association representing all physicians in New Brunswick. It is a provincial division of the Canadian Medical Association. Its twin goals are to represent and serve physicians, and advocate for the health of New Brunswickers. Over a hundred New Brunswick doctors sit on our Board and Committees, representing the 1600 doctors in the province.