For many healthcare providers, submitting administrative health forms to third parties like government programs, insurers and public agencies remains a time-consuming administrative burden. Many of these forms need to be printed, faxed, and followed up on by phone. Others require you to log in to a different portal to submit. Often the outcome of these requests have significant patient impact, yet providers have little visibility: Was the form received? Is it being reviewed? Does the recipient need more information?
To address these challenges, Ocean has long-supported the ability to send and manage administrative health form submissions, or eSubmissions, within the eReferral workflow. Now, we’re building on that foundation with a new, purpose-built workspace for eSubmissions.
Elevating the eSubmission experience
The new eSubmission workspace is accessible directly from the Ocean Portal — just click Menu > Ocean Provider Network > eSubmissions. Upon visiting, you’ll notice the entire interface has been reimagined. The search bar has been made more prominent (and powerful) and the status folders along the left reflect form-specific states. There is a “Needs Review” tab for quickly toggling to key items and coloured flags within the table help users find information faster.
The enhancements continue into the individual eSubmission form view, with a refined messaging and notes interface and new in-context form view to supplement the response summary. See below for a selection of key features.
Reimagined workspace
Streamlined status folders
Powerful new search
Enhanced post-submission management
In addition to the new features, eSubmission still supports core Ocean features including:
- Real-time status tracking from submission to decision
- Secure in-platform messaging between senders and recipients
- File attachments for supporting documentation
- Analytics and reporting for receiving organizations
- EMR integration for connected sites, including the ability to launch from the patient chart and include chart attachments
Making an Impact in Nova Scotia
While the workspace is new, the ability to manage eSubmissions in Ocean is not. Case in point: The ever-innovative Nova Scotia has been actively demonstrating the value of consolidating hundreds of special drug authorization forms into a unified eSubmission experience since launching their Pharmacare Exceptional Status Drug request pilot in 2025. Today, providers across the province can launch right from their EMR to submit digital requests for their patients—no paper forms or faxing required.
Explore the end-to-end eSubmission experience
Want to see eSubmissions in action? Watch this walkthrough video to follow an eSubmission from start to finish, including how it’s sent, tracked, received, and processed in Ocean.
