In 2020, Adrian Ryans underwent emergency knee surgery after slipping on ice. Afterwards, he asked for details about his procedure.
“They told me it went fine,” Ryans says with a laugh.
Wanting more information, it was a couple of weeks before he realized that he could access an online copy of his two-page surgical report and find the reassurance he was seeking.
This story is part of a series on the launch of Unity Health’s new electronic patient record (EPR) system, powered by Epic Systems. These stories recognize the many people who made this project possible, and provide important information for Unity Health patients and caregivers as they plan to navigate the new system when it launches on November 30, 2024.
Helen Lepek and her husband were walking down Yonge Street when he received critical test results by telephone. It was during the pandemic, when many appointments were being done virtually.
“It was really noisy, and we both had trouble hearing this important information,” she recounts.
Like Ryans, she and her husband struggled to piece together what little information they had.
Last year, when a different call came from Unity Health, this time for patients and families to partner with the network to design a new secure patient portal called MyChart, powered by Epic, Ryans and Lepek were eager to throw in their support.
MyChart goes live in November, and is part of the launch of the new Epic electronic patient record (EPR) at Unity Health. Through MyChart, patients can manage all aspects of their health — from tracking medical visits to viewing their health records and test results.
“Sometimes as a patient, you don’t hear everything clearly. MyChart provides a direct connection between the patient and the care team,” says Lepek.
Lepek and Ryans are part of the Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) for Unity Health’s new EPR to represent the patient and family voice on decisions around the new patient portal’s functionality and other ways the new EPR will support Unity Health patients.
Hana Mohamed, project manager and coordinator of the PFAC, has witnessed how MyChart has evolved through patient and family input.
“They always ask really good questions that lead to important discussions,” she says.
Balancing patient privacy with accessibility
Both Lepek and Ryans emphasized the importance of creating a patient portal that prioritizes accessibility, inclusivity and control over their own health information.
They advocated for patients to have the option of sharing select aspects of their MyChart information with loved ones, such as parents or adult children, or healthcare providers outside of the hospital network.
By customizing which aspects of their health record they wish to share, patients are able to balance their right to privacy with their desire to give and receive support.
“Sometimes you need help, or have difficulty absorbing the information,” says Lepek.
It was important to the group that the system be user-friendly and intuitive for seniors.
“Some older people may not be as comfortable with smartphones or computers,” says Ryans. As a senior himself, he was able to bring that perspective to the PFAC.
The group also advocated for promotional information about MyChart to be made available in multiple languages, so as many patients as possible will benefit from the system. The platform is available in English, French, Spanish and Simplified Chinese.
“They really challenged our assumptions and helped us think through a future state where we can focus on adding more languages and evaluating the needs of our communities,” says Mohamed.
With most of the important decisions on how to build the patient portal now behind them, the PFAC are shifting their focus to developing a rollout plan that will encourage patients to sign up for MyChart.
“The benefits that are most important to us as patients and families may be different from the benefits of Unity Health staff,” says Ryans, who is using his lived experience to support staff in developing a strategy and language that he hopes will attract new users.
Sign up for MyChart today
Visit the MyChart web page or speak with your healthcare team for more information on how to sign up.
Patients 12 years of age and older can create their own MyChart account. For children younger than 12, parents or legal guardians can manage their children’s information from their own MyChart account.
By: Lisa Zeltzer
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