D Peters: Launch of Electronic Patient Records web

21 August 2006

Programme Director
MEC
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

There is an ever-increasing need for all healthcare providers to have access
to accurate and relevant clinical information about the patients that they are
treating, as well as better administrative control within the healthcare
environment.

Ladies and gentlemen, this Electronic Patient Records (EPR) web makes this
possible by acting as an information hub thus making the information available
with the necessary privacy and confidentiality maintained, in order for it to
be beneficial for both the healthcare providers and patients alike.

I have also been given an assurance by the Department of Health that the
information will be treated as confidential and all security measures will be
implemented to ensure the patient’s privacy. You may as a patient elect to have
the details of any encounter marked confidential. A confidential encounter will
not be shown unless a patient expressly grants permission.

One of the measures is the use of fingerprint biometric identification both
to validate authorised users as well as to positively identify patients. The
patient’s fingerprints also provide consent for access to the health
records.

This equipment will assist our health professionals to better interact with
patients. There is a great need for doctors to provide support to emergency
care practitioners while the patient is being transported, and monitor the
health status of a patient and not wait for the arrival.

They would be able to intervene persistently and assist where necessary to
ensure better management and delivery of quality health services.

This equipment will assist us immensely in tackling some of the challenges
facing us as we improve the functioning of our health system and ensure better
patient outcomes, and easier disease management.

One of the great improvements in practice that the EPR enables is the
ability to manage an illness in a proactive, organised manner. Amongst other
advantages is that when the patient attends a different clinic, or is referred
from the clinic to a hospital, the information concerning their clinic visits
is available to the hospital. This would therefore mean that the hospital would
already be aware of the patient’s condition.

Patients would therefore no longer be forced to remember dates, diagnoses,
what medicine was prescribed and can now rely on receiving treatment based upon
accurate information available to their practitioner.

Primary health facilities will have an accurate picture of the treatment
received by their patients after referrals, most important of which are the
medicines that they are taking.

Ladies and gentlemen, this system will help doctors to keep track of a
patient’s medical condition, and use that information to manage the patient
proactively. The information cannot be altered and can be used by nurses,
medical assistants and administrative staff with minimal training.

This tool can be used for preventive services such as Pap smears, mammograms
or colon cancer screening.

Crucial information is often lacking. The aim is to allow the physician to
have in hand at that time of contact, information known about the patient’s lab
results, imaging reports, correspondence from other consultants, medication
lists and refill histories.

Patients spend less time waiting as we spend less time looking for
information missing in their files.

Indeed this Electronic Patient Records allows us to begin a new era in the
clinical practice. We should however be mindful of the fact that, those who
know how to use these tools will do a better job. Therefore our health
professionals should receive the necessary training. These computers do not
care for patients, but our doctors and nurses do.

This device will allow our physicians to focus their attention on clinical
decision making rather than paper chasing and providing quality healthcare to
their patients.

Ladies and gentlemen, due to the changing healthcare environment, the
Electronic Patient Records are uniquely positioned to support the efficient
integration of healthcare services in our province.

This brings great relief to men and women who have to travel long distances
to access healthcare at the Kimberley Hospital Complex.

As government we have a responsibility to provide excellent healthcare to
our all our people and ensure that we have a healthy, vibrant and prosperous
nation that can contribute positively to the economic growth and development of
this province.

We are marching forward despite a number of challenges we face in order to
reach out to our people in all respects.

In fact all sectors of our society in conjunction with the business
community need to put their shoulders to the wheel to improve the social
welfare of our communities and ensure a sustainable future for us all.

This is an indication that we believe in our vision of service delivery and
most of all this is indeed an indication that we embrace our challenges
whole-heartedly.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to take this opportunity and thank all of you
who continue to support us as government in our initiatives to continue
fulfilling the promises we made to our people by bringing services closer to
our people.

I cannot finish this address without acknowledging the dedication and hard
work of our health professionals who are making a meaningful contribution in
the service delivery plans.

We appeal to you to continue to ensure that our people are treated with
dignity and are not far enough to get professional healthcare.

We should always be mindful that the electronic patient records is intended
to save lives through the skills of professionals working in conjunction with
the emergency care practitioners when distance, location, or road conditions
could delay transport or endanger a patient’s condition.

With this system in place the future of our people and indeed the future of
our province are bright. Government’s service delivery mandate requires well
established resources which will translate into meaningful changes in the lives
of all our people.

Ladies and gentlemen, this service puts time on the patient’s side.

Let us together continue to do what we have to do for the sake of our people
and our country.

I thank you

Issued by: Northern Cape Provincial Government
21 August 2006