Frequently Asked Questions about CorCare
Health Accord NL in 2022 called for modernization of the Health Information System across the province. Since then, NL Health Services has built a project team to make this happen. Community clinicians may have heard about Epic, CorCare, Hyperspace, EpicCare Link, Starling, and other terms and projects, as this process evolved. This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document aims to answer your questions about where the Health Information System modernization is now.
CorCare is the new health information system that will modernize NL Health Services’ information technology infrastructure and establish consistent and uniform practices across the province. CorCare will replace Meditech and some other existing systems. In the first phase of implementation in April 2026, NL Health Services staff and clinicians providing services in NL Health Services’ facilities will transition to CorCare. Community clinicians will have the option to fully transition at a later date. This FAQ will address many of the questions you have asked us about CorCare. (Note that not all questions/answers will apply to clinicians who do not fully transition to CorCare.)
CorCare is an evolving project. As new questions emerge and new information becomes available, this document will be revised and will be available on the NL Health Services website. Please send additional questions to CorCare@nlhealthservices.ca.
Definitions
What is CorCare?
CorCare is the new health information system for the province: an electronic health record (EHR) and health information system (HIS) that helps clinicians manage patient data and care. The full access and use version of CorCare is also known as
“Hyperspace”. Hyperspace is used by those conducting their clinical practice and completing their documentation primarily using CorCare. A limited version of CorCare, known as EpicCare Link, will be made available for users who conduct their clinical practice out of other systems but need to interact with some of the information in CorCare
What is Epic Care Link?
EpicCare Link is a web portal that will allow external clinicians to securely view patient medical information in CorCare, as they would currently do with HEALTHeNL. In addition, external clinicians will also be able to submit electronic orders and other forms, and to communicate with clinical teams within NL Health Services to coordinate patient care.
EpicCare Link is not a full access version of CorCare; it provides a limited view of the information within the CorCare system, has limited functionality and is used in conjunction with your current documentation method.
Project Overview and Scope
When is the transition to CorCare happening?
Phase one of CorCare is currently scheduled to launch in Newfoundland and Labrador in April of 2026.
What programs and services are included in Phase one of the CorCare implementation?
All programs and services delivered by NL Health Services, including Family Care Teams, will transition to CorCare starting in April 2026.
If I am outside NLHS, will it be mandatory to transition to CorCare or will I have my choice of solutions (including continuing to use paper)?
While there is no discussion at this time to make it mandatory to transition to CorCare, use of some of the CorCare functions through EpicCare Link may be necessary to access patient information in NL Health Services.
Community clinicians using Med Access and working in clinics outside NLHS will remain on their own instances of Med Access. Community clinicians will have the ability to communicate with NL Health Services clinics through EpicCare Link.
Will I have the option of using CorCare?
Health Accord NL’s vision for digital health in the province is ‘One Patient, One Record.’ As such, NL Health Services is in discussions with community Clinicians (physicians and nurse practitioners) to use CorCare. Discussions are ongoing and involve NL Health Services, the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association (NLMA), and the Department of Health and Community Services.
For specialists who use Med Access in their private community practice (ENT, psychiatry, OB/GYN, dermatology), and also use Meditech in the hospital, is the plan for those community physicians to switch from Med Access to CorCare? Or will physicians who work in hospitals and the community have to use both systems?
Specialists who work in both NL Health Services’ facilities and a clinic outside NLHS will use CorCare (Hyperspace) when working within NL Health Services and will use Med Access and EpicCare Link when in their private clinic
How are community clinicians engaged in the current planning process?
Clinician representatives from all practice settings and remuneration categories are involved in the design and decision-making working groups for CorCare. Clinicians who are part of the phase one go-live will, over the next year, participate in CorCare readiness activities, including training opportunities.
Will CorCare reduce the information silos that clinicians in the community need to access?
Phase one of CorCare will reduce some silos for community clinicians. A community clinician accessing CorCare through EpicCare Link will have the ability to view patient information across any of their encounters with NL Health Services through EpicCare Link.
CorCare is reducing the number of applications where patient information currently resides (for example, the consolidation of three Provincial MediTech systems and CRMS). Additionally, patient information such as imaging, labs and referrals, many of which were paper based in NLHS, will now be visible electronically as they move through their respective stages to completion.
Dispensed medications and other information from the Pharmacy Network will still be able to be viewed through HEALTHe NL.
Will CorCare eventually replace Med Access in the community?
No decision has been made at this time. Engagement for this decision is ongoing.
Will eDOCSNL continue to exist?
Yes
Will I still receive support from eDOCSNL if I transition to CorCare?
eDOCSNL staff will continue supporting users within the scope defined by EMR governance.
CorCare Integration
Will results still flow from CorCare?
Yes, electronic results will continue to be delivered to HEALTHeNL and Med Access, including those ordered through EpicCare Link.
Will I be able to access CorCare the same way I currently access Meditech?
Clinicians use Meditech in different ways for various reasons, so this question is difficult to answer. There will be two ways to access CorCare: A full access and use account to CorCare (Hyperspace) or a limited view through EpicCare Link. EpicCare Link will connect external clinicians to CorCare, with electronic referrals, secure communication, electronic lab/imaging ordering and the ability to view your patients’ charts in CorCare. On CorCare launch in April 2026, NL Health Services’ employees and clinicians conducting their practice in NL Health Services’ facilities will use Hyperspace, whereas those who continue to document in other systems, or on paper, will be provided with access to EpicCare Link.
Will HEALTHeNL continue to exsit?
The information currently available through HEALTHeNL will be maintained. The long-term role of HEALTHeNL in the digital ecosystem is under review.
If my patient is seen at or admitted to a facility that uses CorCare, will I receive notification?
Yes. Notifications, such as a patient admission to a facility, patient death, etc., can be generated within your EpicCare Link inbox. Clinicians will have the ability to opt in or out of notifications at a user level. When CorCare launches in April 2026, we expect that community clinicians will need to log into EpicCare Link to see these notifications. Other results notifications will still flow to the current EMR from CorCare.
Will I be able to bill MCP from CorCare?
Billing MCP from CorCare will not be available by launch in April 2026, but the CorCare project team and MCP are working on this. More information will be provided as it becomes available.
CorCare Functionality
Will I be able to eFax to/from CorCare?
Yes, CorCare will launch with eFaxing capability.
Will CorCare have PrescribeIT?
CorCare will not have PrescribeIT available by launch in April 2026, but the CorCare project team is working on this.
Is there a way to document confidential information in CorCare such that only the author can view the information?
Yes, this feature is available in CorCare.
Will CorCare have AI Scribe capabilities?
Yes, CoreCare will have AI Scribe capabilities.
Does CorCare offer panel management and practice reporting capabilities?
Yes, this is one of the strengths of CorCare. CorCare supports robust analytics functions that can be applied to both clinical and administrative data on a practice and provider level. Users will be able to define their own reports, within the capabilities of the software.
Does CorCare support Clinical Decision Support functionality?
Yes, CorCare has clinical decision alerts and triggers similar to other platforms, as well as the equivalent of patient care goals. These features can be customized and tracked for effectiveness, ensuring they enhance patient care without causing undue inconvenience to clinicians.
eDOCSNL has put a great deal of effort into developing and deploying mature use tools through the Practice 360 Initiative that have resulted in benefit to my practice and patient care, will these or similar tools be available in CorCare?
The CorCare project team is actively working with eDOCSNL to ensure that the value of this work is not lost for those who opt to transition to CorCare. While the translation of this work to a new software platform may result in a different looking set of tools, the intention is that the tools will be replicated to the degree possible in CorCare.
Data/Health Information
What will CorCare do with my data? Will workload measurement be conducted on community practices that join CorCare?
There is no intention to use the data from community providers and their practices for workload measurement or other practice evaluation purposes. The EMR Information Management Framework currently outlines the approvals required for uses and disclosures of EMR data, including data from community clinicians and their practices. Discussions are underway regarding incorporating the principles of the framework into NL Health Services policy.
If I opt to transition from Med Access to CorCare, what will happen to my data/patient records?
A review is underway to assess which data must be transferred to CorCare from NL Health Services’ systems. Data that is not converted to CorCare will still need to be made available through an archiving process. The details of the archiving strategy are currently being developed. Clinicians will be engaged in planning for the EMR data transfer and archiving strategy for community EMRs.
Transitioning to CorCare
What is the CorCare Training Approach for Community Clinicians and Staff?
A training approach for Community Clinicians who are not adopting CorCare in phase one of the implementation has not yet been finalized. A training program is being developed to support NLHS Clinician trainers, Super-users and Clinician builders. It is anticipated that eDOCSNL will support the development and implementation of the Community Clinician training plan. Due to differences in functionality between Hyperspace and EpicCare Link,
training plans will differ.
Will there be cost considerations for Community Physicians switching to Epic?
Cost considerations for community clinicians are not known at this time
Will the customization I have created in Med Access be transferred to CorCare?
A comparison of functionality is underway to determine if similar customizations can be built in CorCare. CorCare offers personalization options for users to create their own templates, including ordering favourites, layout of navigators/screens and other workflow adjustments.
What is the future of Med Access & eDOCSNL support?
Discussions are ongoing between NL Health Services, the EMR Management Committee, and the NLMA. Decisions will be communicated to Med Access users once they are finalized. eDOCSNL will remain operational, and staff will continue supporting users within the scope defined by EMR governance.