The REAL benefits of MyOscar or how it should work!

From OSCAR Support:

One of the patients at our family health team is an elderly patient who can no longer speak.  The health status has changed significantly over the last year and the patient is no longer able to call our office to book an appointment and we are not able to communicate by phone,  but can write responses.  Prior to using MyOscar, we were required to call a family member or neighbour to go over to the house and speak with the patient in person. 

The introduction and utilization of MyOscar allows the patient and selected family members to communicate directly with us about various important issues. Because of the complex health issues, this patient is involved with several specialists and interprofessional care providers.  Following appointments, the patient is able to update us on immediately  on new recommendations and treatment plans. 

After a recent hospitalization, the patient and family contacted us through MyOscar to explain the patient had been discharged from hospital and had been advised to contact the  primary care provider. The patient requested an appointment for follow-up on health issues.  Family expressed concern that we would not be able to see consultation notes or discharge summaries prior to the follow-up appointments.  Because of the effective electronic communication, it was possible for us to obtain these documents, which assisted in advancing the patient’s treatment plan in a timely manner.  On another occasion the patient was requesting some medication adjustments, and our pharmacist was then able to review the patient’s medication profile and prepare recommendations prior to the appointment. 

This patient is now able to arrange appointments with us and keep us informed of changes in the medical condition and any changes in the treatment plan .   Because of MyOscar we are able to continue to provide excellent care to a elderly patient with complex health issues while minimizing the need for appointments and inconnvience  as well as keeping  the family informed.

This is a great example of how an integrated  EMR allows professionals and patients to communicate and improve patient care.

Helpdesk Calls Increasing Daily!

The volume of calls is increasing daily. I had to juggle 2 calls at once this afternoon.
One of the calls was a patient saying "Awesome! I feel privileged to be a part of this. I am so glad this is happening!".
I had to charge my headset to ensure proper ergonomics:-)

Great day at the Helpdesk!

Great way to use MyOSCAR

Great way to use MyOSCAR

Last week one of our staff, who is a patient at our Stonechurch Clinic sent me a myoscar message that she had received her flu shot at work. I copied her message, entered her Oscar EMR and added the flu shot to her prevention chart.

Everyone is happy-she didn’t have to call the clinic or come in to register her flu vaccine, and the clinic now has her recorded vaccine and will qualify for the bonus for that patient. A win-win for everyone

MyOSCAR Helpdesk Calls!

We have received more than a dozen calls on the MyOSCAR Helpdesk.

I am happy to say that the comments have been overwhelmingly positive!

I am looking forward to blogging more results!

MyOSCAR looking good!

Features of MyOSCAR are becoming more polished every day. Our amazing programming staff has been in high gear. Soon data from OSCAR will supplement the patient’s own entries.

Patients can now:

- set their blood pressure goals, enter their measures and track them on a graph

- set goals and track any health and wellness measures of their choice

- enter all their medications including supplements and over-the-counter, how and why they are taking them, and print a list

- complete a comprehensive survey of medication effects to facilitate a conversation with their health care professional

- read about common health conditions to understand treatment choices

The reports are starting to come in! We have users!

We can start to tell that people are authenticating their MyOSCAR accounts. It is quite exciting to see the growth in users.  It is happening slowly but we hope that as people come into the clinic for their regular visits or have time to call the Help Desk then they will sign up for the system. We can't tell who is signing on...that would contravene privacy but we can watch the numbers grow day by day!
The open information sessions only had a few people drop in because it was convenient since they were at the clinic already. No one RSVPed. We are not sure why people have not participated but possibly it could be that computer users would rather do everything on-line or over the phone.  We are re-evaluating the need for information sessions as we start to think about opening up MyOSCAR to the next clinic.

A New Website and Training Video

Letters are starting to go out. Patients visiting http://MyOSCAR.org will now be greeted by a much more professional looking web-site:

Moreover, if they click video they will be shown a very well made training video


Group meetings will start next week. Exciting!
David Chan