Patient care history now available through Connect Care

Alberta is blazing a trail in correctional health services, as the province is the only one in the country to fully integrate its electronic medical record with jails and remand centres.

That means better patient safety and quality of care across the continuum — including for those who face incarceration.

“Before Connect Care, a person’s medical history from any period spent in jail was a bit of a black hole. It was not accessible,” explains Angela Draude, Recovery Alberta’s senior operating officer for Forensic Psychiatry and Correctional Health Services.

“It worked the other way as well: if the individual in jail had spent time in hospital or in a community program, you sought consent to get those records and had to wait to receive them. Today, you can see that information in real time at your fingertips.”

Members of Correctional Health Services’ Addiction and Mental Health team pose at Edmonton Remand Center. Left to right: Christopher (assistant health services manager), Lisa (program manager), Brandie (registered nurse), Angel (registered psychiatric nurse), Natalie (registered nurse).

The Connect Care electronic clinical information system was rolled out in phases over several years across Alberta’s health care system, integrating with Correctional Health Services in November 2024.

Since that time, health care workers can now see the care their patients have received while in jail, the medications they were taking, if they’ve been to another facility with addiction or mental health care, or if they’re not up-to-date on their immunizations. All of that informs their care and positively impacts their health outcomes.

“A good example is for patients with an opiate use disorder,” says Draude. “Maybe they had a poisoning in the community previously, and now we can see that history and provide care accordingly. It assists our prescribers and other care providers to be able to validate the information and have better care provision.”

It’s not just staff and physicians with a full medical picture. Patients themselves are able to learn more about their own care as well, as health care teams teach them how to access their health information through the patient portal, MyChart.

A patient survey conducted in the spring of 2025 suggests that individuals who have been incarcerated felt Connect Care improved their care experience.

“My medication is delivered properly, without any mistakes,” states one patient of Correctional Health Services.

“I think it's a lot simpler for the health care team to get info from any doctor or hospital that I was at. I don't have to wait a day or two when I come back to jail for any paperwork to get processed which leads to faster healthcare,” says another survey respondent.

“The level of care and treatment has increased enough to be noticeable. Myself and everyone else here are truly grateful for all of you and all that you do,” says another patient.

Draude regularly gives presentations and holds tours for her interprovincial peers who look to Alberta for their expertise. The Recovery Alberta leader is proud of what her team is able to accomplish via improvements to efficiency and quality of care.

“We are often told we are miles ahead in the continuity of care we are able to provide. It’s groundbreaking,” she says.