It's never too late for EMR

Family physician Dr Lianne Lacroix has been practising medicine for 40 years, with the last 30 spent in Kelowna. At 69, you might think she would be ready to hang up her stethoscope. But since 2008 when she computerized her practice with the help of the Physician Information Technology Office (PITO), Lacroix has found renewed passion for her work.

“The computer is helping me so much that I hate the idea of retiring,” says Lacroix. “I keep telling my patients I’ll be here for a few more years, and I just carry on one year at a time.”

Lacroix is a solo practitioner with about 1,200 patients, about 90% of whom are women. “A lot of my patients are getting old and are on lots of medications,” she says. “Before the computer, it was a lot of work keeping track of their meds and writing out all those prescriptions.”

She also appreciates the virtual elimination of paper-based patient file folders, which had grown so large she could hardly lift them. And since acquiring voice recognition software, she no longer has to type her notes. “Now I dictate all my patient notes and histories into my computer. I even dictate all my letters to specialists,” says Lacroix.

Although getting started with her EMR system was a challenge – Lacroix describes herself and her MOA as “not very technically advanced” – she found the BCMA/Ministry of Health’s PITO program provided all the help and encouragement she needed.“To advance medicine we must overcome our fears and press forward,” says Lacroix, referring to her initial concerns about adopting an EMR.

Now when she consults a patient about lab results, instead of pulling pages from a weighty file folder, she shows the results on a colourful screen display and creates a print-out for the patient.“It’s a different way of practising,” says Lacroix, “Patients want to be more involved in their care and want more information. My EMR lets me give patients what they want and helps me to better manage the complex needs of my chronic patients.”

For more information on EMR and the PITO program, please click here to visit their website.