Province unveils plans for open market certification of electronic medical records
The provincial government has taken another step toward opening up the New Brunswick electronic medical record (EMR) market to more vendors. The transition from a single integrated provincial EMR to an open market was initially announced jointly with the New Brunswick Medical Society in September 2019. An open market will provide physicians with more choices for EMRs allowing them to select the best one for their patients and their practices leading to increased EMR adoption in the province and a more integrated health system.
The Government of New Brunswick has partnered with OntarioMD (OMD) to extend the OMD EMR Certification Program to support the New Brunswick EMR Open Market effective January 1, 2021. The OMD EMR Certification Program is Canada’s longest established and most mature certification program and will accelerate the opening of the New Brunswick EMR market and minimize the work to vendors who already have a certified EMR offering in Ontario.
“Certified EMRs will enable physicians to access more patient data from provincial digital health systems such as the EHR and lab results thus improving patient care for New Brunswickers” said Health Minister the Honourable Dorothy Shephard. “This is an important step toward our goal of a more integrated health system.”
“A robust certification process will give physicians assurance that EMRs offered in New Brunswick meet comprehensive privacy and security requirements to protect patient data,” said Dr. Jeff Steeves, President of the New Brunswick Medical Society. “It’s a positive step toward the opening of the EMR market which gives physicians more choice to help them enhance patient care and increase practice efficiency.”
The launch of the New Brunswick EMR Certification Program is a major milestone for the NB Provincial EMR Program. The move to an open market gives more EMR vendors the opportunity to expand their business in the province and gives physicians more choice in certified EMR offerings, while maintaining confidence that the EMR product has been vetted for privacy, security and functionality. “Leveraging the OMD Certification Program minimizes the work needed for vendors certified in Ontario to be certified in New Brunswick and draws on over 15 years of experience in validating and certifying EMRs that meet the needs of physicians,” said Sarah Hutchison, OMD’s CEO.
Vendors will need to go through the OMD EMR Certification Process to qualify for participation in the Provincial EMR Program. There is no additional fee for vendors whose EMR offering are already certified in Ontario, however they will need to complete work to address New Brunswick specific changes to the OMD specification, as well as complete mandatory integrations to the province’s digital health systems. Vendors whose EMR offerings are not yet certified will be required to complete the full EMR Certification process and will be charged the associated fees.
For more information on the transition to the Open Market and what it means for physicians using Velante’s EMR (Intrahealth’s Profile EMR), and physicians considering EMR adoption, please visit the NB Provincial EMR Program website.