Dr. Brendan Murphy:

In the health service, whether it is triage or the acute care setting I work in, care comes first and documentation of the information comes afterwards. Therefore, I suspect that in the acute phase of the bleeding patient, the patient would be dealt with first and foremost. Yes, there are clinical risks in the absence of an electronic health record. An electronic record, in and of itself, brings with it risks unless it is managed appropriately and designed and built effectively. It is not just about having data; you need to have data that are useful as information, provide knowledge to the caregivers and can be communicated effectively across the healthcare team to provide the best care. If this was simple, I believe, based on the experience I have had, that we would have done it years ago - not just in this jurisdiction but elsewhere.