B.C. family physicians sound alarm on fragmented medical record systems across province

The fragmentation of B.C.'s digital health system is putting patient safety at risk and driving up health-care costs through duplicate tests and appointments, the B.C. College of Family Physicians warned Wednesday.

The province operates more than 40 different electronic medical record systems that don't connect to each other, preventing specialists, hospitals and emergency rooms from accessing a patient's history, test results or medications. Health Minister Ravi Kahlon pledged to make connected health care a "top priority" and said he will examine how Alberta and Ontario have integrated their systems.

Dr. Jennifer Lush, a family doctor in Victoria and president of the college, said the fragmentation creates serious risks. "An unconscious patient cannot report their allergies, and if the system does not report those allergies, then that's really putting health of British Columbians at risk," Lush said. She also described how specialists or hospitals ordering duplicate imaging tests because they can't see previous results wastes both time and money in a system already struggling with imaging backlogs.

Kahlon said the province needs input from independent family practices, which remain outside most hospital systems. "I welcome the suggestion from family physicians because we need family practice doctors who are independent to think about their systems and how we can connect those systems," Kahlon told the college. "We can't have just the hospitals; we need the family practices to be connected."

The college has launched a website called Connect Every Visit, where residents can share stories about delays caused by fragmented systems and send messages to their MLAs. Lush said integrating the digital health system would give family physicians the tools and access they need to spend more time with patients rather than chasing information.