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How Changes in Hospital Technology Affects HRM Users

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Hospitals are choosing how they send reports through HRM®, including sending increasing volumes in PDF (portable document format) through their information systems. These changes can affect your review of patient information in your EMR. Unless they are opened, PDF reports are not readily searchable by EMRs, however they permit better formatting than plain text reports using bolding, italics, and underlining to emphasize important information. They can also include charts and lists.

OntarioMD (OMD) is working with hospitals to optimize what is being sent through HRM, and with EMR vendors to support better handling of reports received from sending facilities (e.g., hospitals), including PDFs, however this work will not happen overnight.

OMD encourages discussions between hospitals and the primary care community and community-based specialists to better understand how changes at hospitals impact community-based physicians before hospitals implement them, to consider the timing of changes, and to ensure that physicians receive appropriate notice and details of the changes through timely communications.

In addition to sending increasing numbers of PDFs, hospitals may also change report types or names. These changes could impact how reports are categorized in your EMR. OMD recognizes the added burden this puts on you and has been recommending to hospitals that they consider this consequence. This is another domain where planned enhancements to HRM will enable a better clinician experience. If you need help with the autocategorization of HRM reports in your EMR, please contact your OMD Advisor or support@ontariomd.com.

Frequently Asked Questions:

I am receiving more PDF reports through HRM than before. Why is this occurring?

Hospitals are choosing how they send reports through HRM, including sending them in PDF format through their information systems. PDFs permit better formatting using bolding, italics, and underlining to emphasize important information. They can include charts and lists, which are not found in plain text reports.

What is OMD doing about this?

OMD is working with hospitals and vendors to support better handling of reports sent by sending facilities (e.g., hospitals), including PDFs, to physicians, however this work will not happen overnight. Improvements will require changes at the sending facility, HRM (managed by OntarioMD) and the EMR vendor levels. They may also potentially require changes in your EMR workflow.

Why don't I receive communications about upcoming changes at hospitals?

OMD always encourages hospitals to communicate early and often with community-based physicians about any changes that may affect the reports they receive from the hospitals. Hospitals initiate these changes according to their own plans and timelines.

Is OMD doing anything to improve HRM users' experience?

Yes, OMD established the HRM Task Force to address your administrative burden from reports delivered from hospitals to your EMR via HRM. We examined the issues and looked for solutions. The Task Force consulted a broad array of stakeholders to develop recommendations for hospitals (sending facilities) and for EMR vendors:

The Sending Facility Standards Report contains recommendations to address:

  • High Volume of Reports: Clinicians receive a high volume of reports, which can lead to information overload and potential risks to patient safety.
  • Duplication of Reports: Reports are sometimes duplicated, causing additional work for clinicians and increasing the risk of missing crucial information.
  • PDF Report Limitations: PDF reports limit the EMR's search capabilities, affecting data quality and patient-related quality improvement efforts.
  • Categorization of Reports: Inconsistent labelling/categorization of reports makes it challenging to identify relevant information quickly.
  • Lengthy Reports: Lengthy reports with inconsistent formatting can contribute to clinician burnout and increase the risk of missing critical patient health information.
  • Location-Based Report Delivery: Clinicians receive reports for all patients at every location rather than reports only for patients at each specific location. 

If you have any questions about the HRM Task Force recommendations, please contact OMD at support@ontariomd.com.

How can HRM users stay up to date on potential changes to HIS and their EMR workflows?

Whenever a hospital makes a change to their information systems that will impact the reports delivered to your EMR, the hospital should send you communications to signal the change and include any pertinent information about changes you may be required to make in your EMR. Hospitals do not always notify OMD of upcoming changes. If we become aware of changes at a hospital that would affect the reports you receive through HRM, we communicate these in our monthly Digital Health eTips newsletter. Sign up for our newsletter on OntarioMD.ca for this type of information as well as other useful tips and advice.

Are there any resources available for HRM users on how to manage PDF reports?

Yes, please consult the Quick Reference documents for three of the most used EMRs:

How do I stop receiving faxes of the same reports I'm receiving through HRM?

Visit the OMD Sending Facilities page to find the contact details for the sending facility that is still sending you duplicate reports by fax. Contact them to request that they stop sending you faxed reports.