Since 2013, MEDFAR has made a dramatic breakthrough in Quebec, establishing itself as an expert in electronic medical records. The company’s rapid growth and development was spurred in large part by software deployment in public institutions. The deployment projects carried out as part of the call for tenders awarded by the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and the Mercier-Est-Anjou CLSC are some of our greatest success stories.
These two institutions are very different in terms of size, composition, and mission. As such, in order to accommodate both institutions’ specific needs, MEDFAR assigned them each a project manager. Our project managers were able to count on the expertise and involvement of the representatives appointed within the two institutions, Karine Roy and Zakia Attab. The close collaboration between the institutions’ representatives and the MEDFAR team resulted in strong teamwork and support from the staff.
Four months after the deployment, our team returned to learn about their experience. From the outset, the situation prior to the deployment meant that the institutions were open to our team’s help. Deploying MYLE was going to centralize all their data, as their record-keeping system had become very cumbersome, and even at times dysfunctional:
“It is inconceivable to think that we were operating with two or three records (the hospital’s central record, the temporary FMU record and the QHR). We often didn’t even have access to patient records within the required timeframes,” explained Dr. Turcot.
Be that as it may, given the change that was about to take place, Ms. Roy and Ms. Attab shared concerns about the very tight timelines, the legal issues pertaining to public institutions, and managing their staff’s stress. The MEDFAR team quickly alleviated their apprehension by sending the necessary resources in person and equipping the project managers to handle these concerns.
In the end, it turned out that the biggest challenge was retranscribing all the medical summaries. While converting the paper records into electronic records, the two institutions did not have a chance to transfer data. Several training sessions and days of support encouraged the staff to try out the new system and become comfortable with it:
“The two- to three-month transition period following the initial implementation is the most difficult, but it passes quickly and it soon becomes much easier and more pleasant to work with,” says Dr. Turcot.
Looking back, Ms. Roy and Ms. Attab are still astonished by how quickly the staff, both administrative and medical, adopted the new procedures and got acclimated to the software. They also applauded all the work that went into the training, the review process, and the on-site support provided by the MEDFAR team in preparation for the MYLE launch.
“Sabrina demonstrated her outstanding patience and teaching skills while coaching the staff on how to optimize their use of MYLE.” – Dr. Prévost
“Simon has excellent organizational and communication skills.” – Dr. Turcot
The impact of computerization is felt in the clinics every day. Ms. Roy’s least favourite aspect of this new way of working is that, due to the communication tools, face-to-face discussions take place less frequently, which individualizes everyone’s tasks somewhat. On the other hand, MYLE’s efficient communication tools and tools to monitor vulnerable patients, with a user-friendly structure for the medical records and partially automated queries, have made both team’s daily work easier. MYLE’s greatest advantage remains the ability to access one’s MYLE session from anywhere, at any time:
“It is now possible to catch up on work on a Saturday morning while enjoying a nice cup of coffee,” chuckled Dr. Prévost.
If we were to do the project over again, we would revise the timelines we offered the clinics by adding support days dedicated to post-implementation training sessions. The project managers admit that there is still work to be done, especially with respect to defining and optimizing the processes, which is a long-term project that entails all of the staff’s participation. Ms. Roy also recommended that the MEDFAR team improve follow-up support, a crucial aspect of the application’s continuous development. In response, the new version of MYLE now allows users to submit suggestions at any time by clicking on an icon that appears in the majority of the modules. A follow-up is then carried out as quickly as possible.
In conclusion, MEDFAR wishes to commend the work and leadership of Ms. Karine Roy and Ms. Zakia Attab, who established work environments that were conducive to MYLE’s integration and to our team’s work. It is largely thanks to you and to your teams’ receptiveness to the deployment that the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and Mercier-Est-Anjou CLSC tender project is now one of our success stories!
