Electronic Health Record (SHARE)

Background

The Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness has adopted a progressive approach to improving information technology for the delivery of quality healthcare.

Partnership with Canada Health Infoway

The province was successful in getting funding for developing electronic health systems through a federally funded not-for-profit organization called Canada Health Infoway (CHI).

The Department of Health and Wellness is implementing technology initiatives that fit with CHI's overall vision and framework. As a result, Nova Scotia has put in place the provincial electronic health record system known as SHARE (Secure Health Access Record).

Electronic health systems are vital to helping provinces achieve many health care goals, such as reducing wait times for service, improving patient safety and quality of health care delivery, allowing health care professionals across disciplines to collaborate on patients care, and of course, ensuring that provinces get the health care services they pay for, in other words, improving the accountability of the system.

SHARE is based on robust information technologies now in place in the province. These include:

• The three hospital information systems for capturing patient information when in hospital: one at Capital District Health Authority, one at the IWK and one for district health authorities in the rest of the province.
• The provincial Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) for storing and viewing diagnostic images such as x-rays and ultrasounds.
• The provincial nshealth network that allows us to integrate these systems and to securely transfer information electronically across the province.