Nova Scotia Health to adopt e-referral system for surgical consults
Nova Scotia Health to adopt e-referral system for surgical consults
A surgery is performed in the operating room in Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
Nova Scotia Health is changing the way its physicians make surgical referrals with a new electronic system.
The province says primary care providers will use the Ocean eReferrals system to send their requests for surgical consultations, instead of faxing, emailing or mailing requests directly to a surgeon.
Over time, the province says it will lead to shorter wait times.
Dr. Dafydd Davies, chief of surgery at IWK Health, says having one, uniform system will simplify the practices of both family physicians and specialists.
“eReferral also has the potential to give us data to better track wait times and waitlists so that future resources can be directed strategically,” Davies said in a Wednesday news release.
The system will give patients better information on the status of their referral, according to the province, and will allow for better tracking, review and management of referrals. Eventually, the province says it will include consult wait time information to allow for faster consults.
Patients who give an email address will get automatic notifications when their referral is received, forwarded to a surgeon, and when a consult is booked or changed.
Michelle Thompson, minister of health and wellness, says waiting for care is hard for patients and their families.
“It's also frustrating for health-care professionals when they don't have the information to answer their patients' questions," said Thompson, in the release. "Nova Scotians deserve short wait times that will keep them out of pain and allow them to move on with their lives."
The service will reportedly go live for primary care providers and surgeons at Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health on Friday.
The province says work is underway to expand the use of the system to allow for e-referrals for diagnostic imaging services like MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Fires across the country are burning millions of hectares of land but what does that really look like? CTVNews.ca compared the blazes to some cities and lakes in the country showing just how big they have gotten.
Foreign interference special rapporteur David Johnston has resigned, CTV News has confirmed. In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Johnston cited the intense politicization of his appointment and work, as the reason for his coming departure.
A Ukrainian-Canadian teenager is on an emotional journey to capture the destruction of the Russian invasion, including of his childhood home, on camera.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents, according to an indictment unsealed Friday that alleges that he described a Pentagon 'plan of attack' and shared a classified map related to a military operation.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventative Medicine Reports by a group of international researchers has found that post-secondary students with unhealthy eating habits can go on to suffer from disease and mental health issues for years to come.
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson shocked Britain on Friday by quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Showers are predicted Saturday over the aggressive wildfire threatening Tumbler Ridge, but forecasters say thunderstorms could sweep through the parched region without bringing any rain.
Toronto police have released images of a vehicle used by three suspects to flee the scene of a violent attack outside of a Scarborough mosque last month.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Three of the province's nine Cree communities are threatened by wildfires, including Waswanipi and Mistissini. But only Oujé-Bougoumou, about 500 kilometres north of Montreal, has been evacuated completely.
There is a divide at the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake that seems bound to complicate the process of cleaning up a toxic dump that has the potential to hurt the wider environment north of Montreal.
The fierce battle to protect Quebec communities from forest fires continues on the ground as the Quebec forest fire fighting society (SOPFEU) reported 123 active forest fires on Saturday morning, nearly half of which were out of control. At last count, more than 13,500 residents remain evacuated, mainly in Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon in Northern Quebec.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith named her new cabinet Friday, about two weeks after her United Conservative Party took the majority of seats in Alberta.
A tenant displaced in the downtown Sudbury fire last month said her hotel is denying her request to move her room to a centralized location following an attempted break-in.
A neighbourhood pool in west London, Ont. may not be able to open this year because the federal funding it depends on every year to hire lifeguards has not come through.
WINNIPEG -- Zach Collaros was glad Blue Bombers fans were able to cheer just as much at the end of the game as they did early on in Winnipeg's 42-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
Ottawa police say four men were located on Clarence Street with gunshot wounds at approximately 1:30 a.m. Two of the men suffered life-threatening injuries.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a speech to Ukraine's parliament, where he called the war-torn country's fight against Russia's invasion a battle 'for the future of us all.' This comes after Trudeau announced Canada will be spending $500 million to help Ukraine's military fight Russia's invasion.
Auditor General Nathalie Gougeon says the fraud hotline has been receiving approximately five to 10 reports a day over the past year linked to bus operator "compliance nature", and it is overwhelming her office.
The head of Saskatoon’s chamber of commerce responding with frustration to the city’s announcement of a $75 million deficit over the next two years — and the tax hikes that will likely be needed to help makeup some of the the shortfall.
The Moby Dick restaurant has been serving up its famous fish and chips on the White Rock promenade since it was founded by the Mueller family in 1975. But one local city councillor clearly isn’t a fan.
Authorities in West Vancouver say it's lucky more people were not harmed when a driver crashed his car through the entrance of a Whole Foods Friday, coming to a stop in the busy produce section.
Wildfire officials are sending an additional 20 firefighters to help battle an out-of-control blaze that has burned more than two square kilometres of forest and cut off a major highway on Vancouver Island.
A surgery is performed in the operating room in Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
