Apps apps apps
Nova Scotia of course
Nova Scotia, like many places in Canada, has figured out that the best way to avoid hiring more expensive doctors is to nudge everyone to alternative health care options. Sometimes that means a Nurse Practitioner instead of a doctor. Sometimes it means a Pharmacist instead of a doctor. Sometimes it means a random “health care professional’ on Maple, the for-profit health corporation that Nova Scotia pretends is an integral part of public health care.
Still, at the end of the day the number one choice when you feel sickly is, you guessed it, an app.
The YourHealthNS app actually only delivers two things - the chance to make appointments for one thing or another, and in theory access to your own health records. In an age when you likely don’t have a family doctor, and where there are no walk-in clinics, that last one can be pretty useful.
So, what are the steps involved in looking at my latest test results?
Step One: Open the app
Step Two: Click Records at the bottom
Step 3: Click “Sign in with MyNS Account”
Steps 4 and 5: Checkbox saying you understand the Terms of Use, then Continue.
Step 6: English or French (Cookies? Who needs cookies?)
Step 7 and 8: Username, then Continue
Step 9 and 10: Password and Continue.
And finally, you can see your Labs and Diagnostics.
Well, except for the ones that are missing, especially those in the last few weeks, and except that the imaging - X-rays, CAT scans etc - doesn’t include the images.
However, not to worry because my doctor will surely fill me in when I can next get an appointment - in three or four weeks…
It’s also interesting that in an age when every supermarket points card demands two factor identification to “protect me”, the NS heath app doesn’t bother with bio-metric ID, or even an email confirmation. A username and password are absolutely enough!
Now, some good news: our local Queens Region municipality has what is one of the greatest apps I’ve ever downloaded. Here’s what it does for me:
Every other Thursday it pops up a notice to say:
“Tomorrow is your garbage pickup day.”
And that’s it. It does nothing else.
I love it.
