This morning's message is a reflection on last week's very public events.
I'll start by saying how grateful I am for the teams in UHN Digital who have worked through a very large and difficult issue with regard to patient records, our systems and our links to providers outside the organization. To do that under the media spotlight is difficult but it is clear to me that everyone knew that the issue needed to be analyzed, fully understood and remedied because it matters to our patients and to care providers throughout the Province. David Jaffray will continue to provide updates until we fully understand what has happened and how it happened. Peter Rossos, Chief Medical Information Officer is also working to understand what effects this may have had on clinical care and what actions we will need to take.
What we should be particularly proud of is the fact that it was a patient with access to myUHN who let us know that there was something in his file that was unrelated to his care. The patient portal, which delivers information directly to the patient in real time, is a statement about our partnership with our patients and there could be no clearer or better example of that partnership than a patient alerting us to a problem. Our thanks also go to that person who cared enough and was curious enough to let us know. Our care will be the better for that call.
Towards the end of the week, the Toronto Police Services contacted us as they were sending out a media release about an arrest they had made of a physician who had worked in a number of hospitals including ours. This is distressing, particularly for those who worked with him, and please know that there are supports in place through the Employee Assistance Program. We will cooperate fully in the police investigation.
And finally, Geoff Fernie and his team launched Driver Lab. You can read about it
here and watch a video taken inside the lab. Astonishing – and aimed at keeping us safer on the roads.
Charlie
