Huron Expositor, 2007-01-17, Page 3The Huron Expositor • January 17, 2007 Page 3
News
Palmer helping family health team choose
most user-friendly healthcare software
When it comes
to choosing the
right computer
programs to run
a family health
team, the more
user-friendly the
better, says Olga
Palmer.
Palmer, who
has spent her
whole career
working on com-
puter program-
ming within a
healthcare set-
ting, has been
hired by the
Huron Family
Health Team
(FHT) in
Seaforth to set
up its informa-
tion technology.
"My job is to
make sure the
programs meet
their technical
needs and is as
easy as picking
up a phone.
When you pick
up a telephone
and make a call,
you don't ask
how it works -
you just do it,"
she says.
Working since
late fall to deter-
mine which pro-
grams to use for
the FHT, Palmer
says she and the
four doctors
have almost
narrowed it
down to a final
choice.
Because her
last job was for
the Canadian
Department of
National
Defence, hook-
ing up medical
and dental clin-
ics across the
armed forces,
Palmer says
she's very aware
of the 20-30 clin-
ical manage-
ment systems
available.
Palmer has
also worked at
the Ottawa
Civic Hospital,
the University
Hospital in
Alberta and the
Huron -Perth -
Bruce and Grey
District Health
Centre.
The FHT's
computer pro-
gram will
involve elec-
tronic med-
ical records
for patients
as well as
access to
medical sites
on the inter -
net and
interaction
with pharma-
ceutical
information
that will
alert doctors
to any problems
with drug inter-
action.
"This is a new
and better way
of dealing with
healthcare," she
says of the push
towards elec-
tronic medical
records.
Palmer says
medical comput-
er programs
available today
are easy to use
and allow a com-
plete record of a
patient's medical
Olga Palmer
history to be
easily accessed
by all members
of a family
health team.
jointed hand-off
to other profes-
sionals - it will
improve commu-
nication," she
says.
As well, the
programs
can provide
reminders to
doctors about
when physi-
cals or tests
are required
for patients.
Also, they
can be used
to provide
patients with
hand-outs
with the lat-
`My job is to
make sure the
programs meet
their technical
needs and is as
easy as picking
up a phone;' --
Olga Palmer,
IT consultant
But, they also
have a variety of
security mea-
sures that keep
medical infor-
mation private
with options
that can allow
only certain
health care pro-
fessionals access
to certain health
information.
"It has full
security but it
allows the pro-
fessionals to col-
laborate. It
won't be the dis-
est informa-
tion about the
corrK�dition or dis-
ea4e they're
dealing with.
"We're encour-
aging people to
take control of
their healthcare
and you can only
do that if you
have the right
information,"
says Palmer.
The programs
also manage
OHIP billing,
which Palmer
says "takes the
load off of doc-
tors."
She says com-
puters will be
located in each
examining room,
in the reception
area and for
each of the
allied healthcare
professionals on
the team.
"The patients
probably won't
see much differ-
ence in their
care - there will
be very little dis-
ruption to the
normal flow. If
anything, the
experience
should be
enhanced," says
Palmer.
Once the final
choice is made,
Palmer says
she'll be
involved in the
staff training
and then be
available as an
occasional
resource.
"I'll work with
them until they
up and running
and happy," she
says.
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