Why Would A Dentist Want Access To The Alberta Netcare Portal?
As a dentist or dental hygienist, if you have concerns about a patient’s health history, you may want to have access to the Alberta Netcare Portal to view the patient's history of health concerns and current medications.
Alberta Netcare provides personal health information that is available through a province-wide electronic record system under the authority of the Health Information Act (HIA).
Whether a dentist uses paper records, electronic dental records (EDR), or electronic medical records (EMR), using the Alberta Netcare Portal will help dentists monitor their patient’s interactions with other parts of the health care system.
What is the Alberta Netcare Portal?
Alberta Netcare Portal is the secure vehicle through which patient health information from a variety of health care providers is shared and accessed electronically, by independent and hospital-based health service providers like dentists, physicians, nurses and pharmacists. The Alberta Netcare Portal is a data collection centre for registries and systems such as laboratories, diagnostic imaging facilities, hospitals and some specialized clinics. Alberta Health and Wellness is the Netcare information manager.
Dentists and Dental Hygienists Are Custodians
Dentists were designated in 2010 as authorized custodians under the Health information Act (HIA). Dentists can now request access to Alberta Netcare by showing that they meet the Netcare requirements.
Dentists who manage patients with complex medical conditions or for the provision of treatment requiring sedation or general anaesthesia may require additional information about the patients’ health history. Dentists can use Alberta Netcare Portal to view medication profiles, laboratory data and tests results.
Ensuring reasonable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of personal health information of your patients and residents of Alberta is critical! We want everyone who has access to these health data repositories to follow the same best privacy and security practices. The HIA has regulated requirements for all custodians to follow.
Everyone needs to follow the rules to play in the sandbox!
How To Get Started
Before you are granted access to Alberta Netcare Portal, you must complete the following steps.
Step 1: Create or update your Health Information Management Privacy and Security Policies and Procedures including the rules governing the access, collection, use, of health information from Alberta Netcare.
Step 2: Complete a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) and submit this to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for review. For more information on how to complete a PIA, click here.
Step 3: Train your team on privacy awareness. I recommend the Privacy Awareness in Health Care Training — Dental Practices.
Step 4: Contact the eHealth Netcare Support Services Team.
Step 5: Complete a Provincial Organizational Readiness Assessment (pORA). See What is a pORA.
Step 6: Sign an Informational Manager Agreement (IMA) and Review Informational Exchange Protocol (IEP) with Alberta Netcare
For more tips on implementing reasonable privacy and security safeguards for your dental practice, see https://informationmanagers.ca/privacy-impact-assessment-pia/.
You can also watch the FAQ video on this topic by clicking the button below!
When we know better, we can do better…
Jean Eaton is constructively obsessive about privacy, confidentiality, and security especially when it comes to the handling of personal health information. If you would like to discuss how I can help your practice, just send me an email. I am here to help you.
Jean L. Eaton
Your Practical Privacy Coach
INFORMATION MANAGERS