An outcomes dashboard is a powerful tool to help manage chronic diseases

February 12, 2019

Olivier Coullerez

With clear, results-oriented information, physicians can identify chronic diseases earlier and help patients better manage them.

Today, chronic illnesses characterize the Canadian medical landscape with the latest 2017 data showing that 1 in 5 Canadian adults live with either asthma, diabetes, hypertension or cancer. As more and more Canadians are living with chronic disease, the need for early detection and tools for better management are critical to helping them live better and healthier.

Enhancing the value of EMRs

In communities across Canada, physicians and clinicians are discovering new ways to use their EMRs beyond storing patient information, including layering analytical tools to monitor patient populations and optimize clinical efficiency.

When added to an EMR, a TELUS Health outcomes dashboard can be an indispensable tool to advance the care of patients with chronic diseases. With the benefit of data visualization to improve practice efficiency and quality of care, the dashboard identifies high risk patients, provides workflow efficiencies and supports the adoption of guideline-based care. The outcomes dashboard is EMR-agnostic and is currently available for PS Suite, Med Access, Wolf and Osler EMR users to support a variety of conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease (CAD).

Outcomes dashboard offer a lens into critical data for patients

In a physician’s busy schedule, every minute counts. The dashboard aggregates statistics into easy-to-read graphics that physicians can use to monitor trends and compare indicator metrics within their practice to proactively take action. In the case of chronic diseases, the dashboard helps enable preventive actions sooner. This also helps physicians reach out to their patients for follow-ups and ensure patient treatments are on-track.

Earlier intervention and more successful management for diabetes patients

When an outcomes dashboard was added to a TELUS Health-powered EMR at the Shuswap Family Practice in Salmon Arm, BC, Dr. Keith Hepburn discovered a valuable new tool to treat his patients with diabetes. Always running in the background, the dashboard enables Dr. Hepburn to identify and manage patients with diabetes or those who may be pre-diabetic, and to quickly determine when a patient needs a particular test or screen.

There are many things to monitor. “Without adding much time to a visit, we can stay on top of them – which the patients really appreciate. With chronic diseases, if you catch them early and you manage them well, you prevent a lot of complications down the road,” says Hepburn.

Tracey Kirkman, Executive Director of the Shuswap North Okanagan Division of Family Practice, says the diabetes dashboard has given physicians in the region better overall knowledge of their patients. “It has helped physicians actually understand how many diabetic patients they have on their patient panel. Initially the dashboard identified 368 patients with suspected diabetes across the region. Over four months, 37% were correctly diagnosed or caught early for pre-diabetic management.”

As the patient is at the centre of dashboard initiatives, Kirkman believes it helps to better engage patients, encouraging them to take more ownership over their own health — particularly in the case of Type 2 diabetes, which is preventable when managed.

In addition to the positive benefits the dashboard has for patient care and the overall cost savings that can result from earlier, more effective treatment in managing chronic diseases, Kirkman is excited about the promise it holds for the future of healthcare. “There’s real potential,” she says, “and just so much we can do with it.”