Dan Strasbourg
Director, Corporate Communications Infoway
150 King Street West
Suite 1300
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 1J9
Tel.: (416) 595-3424
Toll Free: 1-888-733-6462
Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) is making headlines.
Below are some recent articles published about Infoway's impact on health care, innovation and EHR.
In the long history of medicine, innovations in technology - from antibiotics and vaccines to X-rays and MRIs - have steadily improved our ability to save lives, preserve health and improve the quality of life for patients. But not every life-saving innovation can be seen in doctors' offices or operating theatres. Some of the most important technological advances in health care are only found behind the scenes.
Getting Canada on track to make electronic health and medical records more efficient has had its ups and downs. To date, there are nearly 300 projects under way. And with more than $1-billion in federal funds received by Infoway since 2001, Mr. Richard Alvarez says it is working on ways to make the EHR process more efficient, effective and transparent. While studies have shown the initiative will cost between $10-billion and $12-billion "when all is said and done," it's expected to save the health-care system between $6-billion and $7-billion annually, he said in the interview.
Canada’s health care spending has escalated dramatically, but the good news is that there are initiatives underway to ensure Canadians get value for money. The initiatives promise to bring not only better use of the $172-billion that will be spent this year, but also significant improvements in health outcomes and accessibility across Canada.
One of the pillars of U.S. President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package is investing in health care. More precisely, he has promised a whopping $50-billion investment in the creation of electronic health records.
Electronic patient records have come to Leduc, Alta., and Dr. Robert Simard could not be more pleased. They have definitely improved the level of patient care he can offer to the 25 men, women and children he sees in his office every day, plus the scores of others he treats during his shifts in the emergency ward of the local hospital, he says.
