Health records are "at your fingertips" thanks to a website that gathers information from hospital visits.
ConnectMyHealth, a web-based tool available on desktop and mobile devices, consolidates health records from the province's participating west region hospitals, including the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance.
"It has been around for a little bit, patients have been able to register for about six months but we are just starting to ramp up promotion," Katherine Perkin, Integration System Planner, OHT project lead with ConnectMyHealth, told StratfordToday.
Weather permitting, Perkin is scheduled to attend Stratford General Hospital on Friday morning and St. Marys Memorial Hospital later that afternoon to chat about ConnectMyHealth with staff and patients, and others who may have questions.
"It is a really great tool, a step in the right direction in terms of integrating and involving patients as partners in their care."
Perkin said the site offers health records "at your fingertips". It is the first website to consolidate health records into one place, even if you have visited multiple hospitals in the ConnectMyHealth coverage area, she said.
Health records that can accessed include radiology and cardiology reports and images, lab and microbiology results and hospital discharge summaries.
Results from tests at hospital visits should come up on the site as soon as available, and you can keep track of scheduled appointments, Perkin said.
Past records can be included on the site, although Perkin wasn't sure exactly how far back information will go.
Community-based labs and other clinics are expected to be added in the near future, Perkin said.
The site is run through Ontario Health. It is free to sign-up, free to use and includes a two-step authenticator, in what Perkin descrbied as a "robust" registration process to ensure security.
The site is operated by HITS eHealth Office at Hamilton Health Sciences.
To sign-up or for more information go to the registration link.
