Alberta’s government is addressing delays in patient referrals to community specialists after Alberta Health Services (AHS) identified a processing issue with its new electronic health record system, Connect Care. The disruption, which was discovered late last month, may have affected approximately 14,000 patients across the province.The issue, which impacted referrals to external community specialists, such as physiotherapists and dietitians, was first brought to the government’s attention by AHS in September. Following an audit, AHS revealed that some referrals had not been properly processed through the Connect Care system. So far, 31 patients have been identified as needing immediate follow-up due to potential negative outcomes caused by the referral delays.“Timely access to care at critical times is a priority. This issue is greatly concerning, and we are committed to taking swift action to ensure AHS addresses and prioritizes the issue,” said Health Minister Adriana LaGrange. “I’ve asked the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) to investigate, and I look forward to recommendations brought forward as a result of the third-party review.”The HQCA will conduct an independent review to determine how the processing disruption occurred and provide recommendations on preventing similar issues in the future. In the meantime, AHS has started notifying affected patients and is working with community providers to ensure timely access to care.Patients who believe they may have been impacted by the disruption can check the status of their referrals through MyHealth Records.Key Facts:Approximately 14,000 patient referrals to community specialists outside of AHS may have been affected.Of those, the majority were in Edmonton (10,025), with additional cases in Calgary (3,329), Central (741), North (549), and South (268) regions.Prior to Connect Care, there was no system to monitor whether referrals were successfully sent and received by community providers.
