Information Available

The EHR captures key health information from across the province. Currently, this includes:

Consultations

Community Information Integration (CII) technology allows clinicians to submit consult reports directly from an approved EMR to Alberta Netcare.

Community Reports

Community Information Integration/Central Patient Attachment Registry (CII/CPAR) is a provincial program that connects community physician EMRs to the health system through Alberta Netcare. The Community Encounter Digest (CED) report is created in Alberta Netcare using information pulled from defined areas of a clinic EMR.  The report summarizes care the patient has received over the past 12 months from all community-based clinics in Alberta that participate in the CII program.

Immunizations

The immunization records come from Alberta Health Services (AHS), and include publicly funded vaccines and some travel clinics, as well as community pharmacies (influenza vaccines). Immunization data for AHS facilities go back 20-50 years, and pharmacy sites go back 6-10 years.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

ECG results are currently available for the greater Edmonton area. Alberta Netcare is working to bring ECG results into the EHR from the rest of the province.

Diagnostic images and reports

Diagnostic images and radiologists’ reports are available from public and private imaging facilities across the province. 91 per cent of the images from participating facilities are successfully added to the provincial EHR.

Transcribed medical reports

A variety of transcribed medical reports are available from facilities across Alberta, which include: admission histories, discharge/transfer summaries, consultations, and operative/procedure reports. In addition, specialized reports are available from the Cross Cancer Institute and Tom Baker Centre, and Cancer Surgery Alberta. Alberta Netcare is constantly collaborating with health care sites to bring additional clinical information into the EHR.

Laboratory test results

The EHR receives data from 94 per cent of the public and private laboratories in Alberta. This includes: general lab, microbiology, pathology, blood bank, blood gases and blood product data. Select information is also available from specialized centres such as the Alberta Cross Cancer Institute, Tom Baker Centre, Alberta Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab) and Canadian Blood Services. Charting functions allow clinicians to track trends in a patient’s lab values over time.

Known allergies and intolerances

This includes allergies and intolerances entered by Health Professionals.

Drug alerts

The alert system checks the medication profile against a database of available drugs and their common doses, and alerts health professionals to potential drug-to-drug and drug-to-allergy interactions.

Prescriptions and dispensed medications

The medication profile includes prescriptions entered by physicians, and medications dispensed by community pharmacies. This includes current medications, recent medications that are likely still present in the patient’s body and a medication history. Approximately 95 per cent of prescriptions filled in community pharmacies are available in the EHR, and 96 percent of pharmacies are actively submitting their dispense data.

Personal demographic information

This data allows health professionals to accurately identify each patient’s record. The information includes: personal health number, first name, last name, birth date, gender, address, phone number and, when available, next of kin/emergency contact. Every individual who has received health services in Alberta, or has been assigned a PHN, will have a record.
It is important to note that the EHR has been in development since 1996, and the length of time that records date back to varies by facility. A data availability report is available to registered EHR users from the Alberta Netcare Portal Data Availability Summary Table.  

How is the EHR updated?

Information is automatically captured from the point of service data systems of pharmacies, labs, diagnostic services and Alberta Health Services facilities. When updates are made at any of those facilities, their systems automatically update the provincial EHR. In some instances, information can be entered directly into a record by an Alberta Netcare authorized health service provider. 

How Can New Locations Submit Data to Alberta Netcare

For health care providers that are interested in submitting their data to Alberta Netcare, there are three assessments that are part of the intake process: 

  • Technical Feasibility: The custodian of patient information/data must have the technical infrastructure to reliably manage/transfer information to the Alberta Netcare Portal.
  • Privacy Impact Assessment: Required when data source providers collect and disclose personal information, particularly when sharing information with multiple parties.
  • Report Content: Patient information/data is reviewed and prioritized for enduring value, to support enhanced collaboration between health care professionals.

For more information please read: Information for Potential New Data Sources to Alberta Netcare Portal

If you would like to proceed, please start completing the ICC-Netcare Intake Form and then email it to: ICC@ahs.ca