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Patient Stroke: Medical Data Fails Across Provinces
27 Nov
Summary
- An elderly patient suffered a stroke due to delayed medical record sharing.
- Inter-provincial data systems prevented timely transfer of crucial health information.
- Legislation aimed at improving data sharing has stalled in Parliament.
A severe stroke suffered by a 78-year-old Creighton, Saskatchewan, resident on November 4, 2025, has exposed critical failures in inter-provincial medical record sharing. Frances Garinger, who relied on Flin Flon General Hospital in Manitoba for crucial INR blood tests following heart surgery in 2011, experienced a stroke after her test results from October 27, 2025, were significantly delayed in reaching her family doctor in Saskatoon. Her daughter emphasized that this delay, which meant her mother's information was not updated for eight days, could have been prevented with more efficient data exchange.
The incident underscores a systemic issue where provinces maintain separate health data systems, hindering the seamless flow of patient information. While Manitoba's Personal Health Information Act allows patients access to their records, requesting them directly from facilities can be a slow process. Saskatchewan, conversely, uses eHealth to manage electronic records, but interoperability remains a challenge. Flin Flon General Hospital, for instance, would typically fax reports, a method that takes days.
Advocates and organizations like the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) are pushing for standardized, connected health data systems. Bill C-72, introduced last summer, aimed to enable secure patient data access and provider sharing but has since stalled. While provinces are working together to identify solutions, the timeline for implementation remains uncertain, leaving patients like Garinger vulnerable.
