‘Don’t worry’: Quebec health workers given list of things not to say about digital health record project

A health-care worker is shown outside a hospital in Montreal, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

Days before the launch of Santé Quebec’s controversial digital health record project, a document is being shared with Quebec health workers advising them of phrases they should not say to patients.

“The system is down. We’re having technical difficulties” appears at the top of the document obtained exclusively by Noovo Info.

Health-care workers are also urged not to tell patients, “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Another directive asks workers not to criticize the system in front of patients or to speculate on the causes of possible delays.

The list of phrases to avoid saying comes as Santé Quebec will roll out the Dossier santé numérique (DSN) pilot project on Saturday in the regional health boards of Montreal North and Mauricie.

After being postponed, Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette confirmed Monday that the launch will go ahead at the end of this week, despite concerns raised by opposition parties and doctors about security flaws and technical problems.

The concerns also triggered fears of another SAAQclic-like fiasco.

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Among the main concerns is the firm that will handle digitized patient records, Epic Systems, which is based in the United States.

The DSN is an ambitious and controversial digitization project expected to cost between $1.5 billion and $3 billion. The project will merge some 400 different computer systems within the health-care network and allow health-care professionals to view and update a patient’s digital health record with all relevant data in real time, including test results, prescriptions, and appointments.

The document shared with health workers in CIUSSS for Montreal North and Mauricie ahead of the May 9 launch also asks them not to criticize the new system in front of patients or to speculate on the causes of possible delays.

The document also touts the benefits of the IT overhaul project, calling it a “major initiative with the health and social service network, designed to bring together all of a person’s health information in a secure environment.”

Santé Quebec did not respond to Noovo Info’s request for an interview on Thursday.

In a April 22 technical briefing, stakeholders from the health-care network said that the project was, to date, on budget and on schedule. It was also specified that “various strategies” were in place in case of system failures.

With files from Noovo Info and The Canadian Press