EPR in Hospitals

Shared Health is implementing electronic patient records (EPRs) in all hospitals in Manitoba by March 2027.

We know news will be met with anticipation for a long overdue step away from paper records, as well as worry and concern about a major change to your practice. That’s why we have set up this resource page to help physicians prepare and stay up to date.

Latest Updates:

June 2026: Watch our Webinar on the EPR for an overview of the project, a demo of the EPR, and a discussion about the impact on physician practices.

What is EPR?

In Manitoba, the EPR will initially include the following, visible in real time to physicians and other providers working with a patient:

Demographics: Name, age, address, contact details
Medical History: Past diagnoses, surgeries, allergies, family history
Clinical Data: Current diagnoses, medications, lab results, imaging reports
Care Documentation: Notes from physicians, nurses, and other care providers
Treatment Plans: Prescriptions, procedures and follow-up schedules

At this point, physician order entry is not included.

Where is it being implemented and when?

Shared Health has funding to implement EPR in the following settings:

All hospitals in Manitoba (6 of 57 hospitals complete as of June 2026)
ERs, specifically the 33 smaller ERs that do not already have EDIS
Hospital ambulatory clinics that are currently paper-based

Implementation is already underway. View the timeline below to see when your site will begin the transition process, which includes an initial technological assessment phase, course modules with practical examples, and 24/7 on-site technical support for an initial period.

Key Features

This phase of the project will implement foundational EPR elements and clinical documentation. This includes:

Core functionality, capturing patient information such as clinical summary, working diagnosis, allergies, consult requests, results, and inpatient timeline
Patient management tools such as patient lists, status/display boards, and patient handoffs
Efficiency tools such as Huddle, ICDx, NoteCetera and eChart tab
Other solutions including Dragon Medical One (voice to text) Business Continuity (downtime solution) and Opal (scanning)

Paper-based acute care clinics in hospitals that are not already using an EPR system will be activated with basic functionality with clinical documents, flow sheets and status boards.

Educational Tools

Shared Health has a suite of educational tools to help you prepare for this change that will be supplemented with access to on-site support once the system is implemented at your hospital. At the EPR Supplemental Learning Hub, you’ll find:

Pre-recorded videos that provide an overview and instructions for how to conduct certain activities
LMS Courses which provide more in-depth modules and will have more courses available in the weeks to come

Other FAQs

What company created this EPR? How were they vetted?

The EPR tool in Manitoba is from Altera Digital Health. Selected through a public competitive procurement process, Altera is a Canadian-based company.

How is this different from Manitoba Health eChart?

eChart is a viewer that pulls together information from many existing systems in Manitoba, including filled drug prescriptions, lab results, immunizations and x‑ray reports. EPR is a digital patient record that captures patient information for hospital care, similar to an EMR in a clinic setting. Learn more about eChart here.

Will hybrid sites like Deer Lodge and Riverview be included in this roll-out?

No. This phase includes designated acute care sites and not these hybrid sites. But we understand there are plans to bring similar digital tools to these sites in the future.

Do outpatient clinics that already have a different EMR have to switch?

No, not at this time. The current phase includes only identified outpatient clinics in the acute care setting that are currently paper-based. Clinics already using digital systems such as Accuro will remain on those systems for now.

Can physicians access the EPR from outside of the hospital?

If you are on-call, at the clinic, or elsewhere, there is a way to access the EPR on your own device.

There are two ways to do this for providers with attending privileges. One is by having a managed computer or managed laptop that is issued by Shared Health that allows you to have a remote office connection via this dedicated laptop computer.

The second way is to register your home computer with Digital Shared Services and by 2FA you can log in through VPN to access the patient record securely.

What if we don’t have enough computers or network capacity?

Digital Shared Services assessed each site for network strength and workstation needs. If you find there are not enough as your site is implemented, be sure to raise this with your local medical leadership.

Are notes from TigerConnect and eConsult automatically incorporated?

No. The best way to document these conversations is to write a progress note in the EPR itself just as you would a phone call or other conversation, that is the primary official record. All documentation needs to occur within the system.

Does EPR include Order Entry?

Order Entry will be included in future implementation phases following more planning and consultation. Dates are yet to be determined.

Search