Health PEI notifying public of issue involving delayed Gynecological referrals

Health PEI is notifying the public of a recent error that resulted in Gynecological referrals being delayed due to a data entry issue involving the newly implemented Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system. 

In late September 2022, staff and physicians in the Gynecology clinic at The Mount in Charlottetown noticed issues with some referrals for Gynecology not being viewable in their referral wait lists within the electronic medical record.

In total, approximately 700 referrals were found to have this error. Health PEI has been reviewing the impacted files and 15 referrals have been identified as needing to be prioritized for appointments. These patients have been seen or scheduled to be seen by a Gynecologist by no later than November 4^th. 

“This unfortunate occurrence is an example of some of the challenges encountered when trying to implement a new province-wide electronic health record system,” said Michael Gardam, CEO at Health PEI. “We are reporting on this to be transparent about the issue and this may not be the only bump in the road as we strive to be one of the first provinces to have a fully integrated EMR for all patient care.” 

Patients whose referrals have been affected will be notified directly by regular mail and the letters will be posted within the next week. 

A toll-free phone line and an email address have been set up for patients who have questions or concerns. Please call 1-833-335-0542 or email PatientFollowUp@ihis.org with your concern and a staff member will respond as soon as possible. 

Media Contact:
Jessica Bruce
Senior Communications Officer, Health PEI
jessicabruce@gov.pe.ca