Velante Guides NB into the Future of Healthcare One Doctor at a Time
FREDERICTON–Velante is trying to get New Brunswick caught up with the rest of the country by helping health practitioners start using electronic medical record (EMR) systems.
Recently nominated for a KIRA Award in the category of Premier’s Innovation Award, Velante has helped around 230 practitioners incorporate up to date technology into the day to day tasks of running a practice.
Anthony Knight is the Velante president and New Brunswick Medical Society CEO. He says that since New Brunswick is so behind other provinces like British Columbia, Ontario and Alberta, Velante needs to get practitioners the information and guidance they need to progress quickly and make the healthcare system here more efficient.
“When you’re operating with paper and paper charts, there’s opportunities for missed information … which doesn’t enable the type of collaboration and information sharing that we need doctors to take advantage of,” Knight said.
Knight says that the main mandate of Velante is to deliver existing EMR technology to physicians and guide them through the process with service and training.
The future of EMR technology is patient-driven information. This technology will allow patients themselves to monitor symptoms and health information from home, then easily share the data they collect with their physicians. The technology could also allow patients to communicate concerns and schedule appointments digitally.
“There’s a decision that doctors have to make,” Knight says. “They’re investing not only in the software, but hardware and infrastructure in their offices. But in the end, the value is there for the doctor and the patient.”
Knight says he believes fear of change might be a reason why doctors in New Brunswick have been slower to adopt EMR systems.
“If you’re comfortable with a type of technology or a style of practice, then the motivation to go from where you’re comfortable to something that’s new and perhaps unfamiliar is a decision you have to make,” Knight says.
“What Velante does is try to make that decision really easy. We take care of the complicated things.”
Knight hopes Velante can help manage the numerous health challenges in New Brunswick’s patient population by eventually making patients more proactive about managing their own health issues.
“We’re doing a lot of different things to encourage people to be more active, be more healthy and to assist the people who are providing the best care possible, our physicians, to better manage the health care of our population.”