Dear Editor:
I’ve been planning a letter to air my exasperation with the Ford government, especially the appalling lack of sufficient funding to support and improve our healthcare system.
However, in light of summer and sunshine, I’ll describe a recent positive experience within our health care system.
I’m an “older adult” and I welcome the challenge of keeping pace with the use of technology. Recently I tried a new online tool that provides us, the patients, access to our personal health care records that are held by local hospitals and some labs.
I wanted to check the date of my last shoulder x-ray because I’m looking at replacement surgery. Rather than calling my busy family doctor’s office I remembered an online tool I learned about several months ago, ConnectMyHealth. There is a poster about it in my family doctor’s office. You can Google it.
The process to register for ConnectMyHealth is detailed. You need to upload a digital picture, so assistance from a tech-savvy friend or family might help. However, the complexity is reassuring because we need confidence that our medical information is secure. Once registered, it’s easy to sign in at any time. I signed in yesterday and found my records from three different hospitals – in Fergus, Guelph and Hamilton – where I have been treated or had scans, scopes, X-rays, etc. (with arthritis, I am fortunate to have had various joint replacements).
This positive experience of a new efficient tool does not in any way let the Doug Ford government off the hook for the appalling underfunding and support of our system.
However, I’ve learned that other digital tools are being introduced to add efficiencies for doctors and other health care workers. We patients will also benefit in the long run. I’m looking forward to learning about other tools in the works or already in use.
Liz MacLennan,
Elora