Digital Health

I think it’s fair to say that 2020 hasn’t been what anyone expected — particularly for health care. But while this year has brought immense challenges to the health system, it has also served to highlight the progress we’ve made in implementing digital...

Fall is often a time when we think about new starts and new beginnings. Like many parents, I have a stepson starting university. As a security professional, I worry about an online world that has become even more “virtualized” as a result of COVID-19....

World Standards Day (October 14) recognizes the collaborative efforts of experts across the globe to develop the standards underpinning our work in digital health. This year, the fragility of our human, health and environmental systems feels...

Whether you’re a physician sending diagnostic imaging across the country or a patient checking lab results on a smartphone, it’s essential that different health information systems and devices can talk to each other. This mutually intelligible flow of...

If there is a universal truth about health care, it’s this: there are a lot of forms. However, not all of them are created equal. Often, the data captured is static — it can’t be independently shared or queried.

We are pleased to publish our 2019-2020 Annual Report – Connecting Canadians Through Health Care Innovation . I hope you will take some time to review it to learn about the collective progress we’ve made across the country to improve Canadians’ access...

When disease is suspected, how long does it take a patient to go from biopsy to diagnosis and treatment plan? It depends where you live. Across Canada, it can take anywhere from days, weeks, or months.

The World Health Organization (WHO) established World Health Day in 1948 to raise awareness of the importance of health. On this World Health Day, that simple message – health is important – has never been more relevant.

Health care organizations need the ability to share health information consistently and efficiently, and the current COVID-19 public health emergency illustrates why.

Much of the world’s attention since we began the new decade has been focused on the identification and spread of the Coronavirus, now known as COVID-19. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet declared it a global pandemic, the virus has...

Canadians want better access to health care and services and they are keen to go online, from their mobile phones or other devices, to view lab test results and other personal health information.

Telehomecare is enabling more Canadians to receive care at home, transforming the patient experience and helping to improve their quality of life by avoiding hospital stays and trips to the emergency department. It has also saved a significant amount of...

The past several decades have seen tremendous advances in medical care. As a society, we often celebrate these results and applaud how innovation has improved our health and our lives overall. But what is often overlooked are the unintended — and often...

This blog post builds upon a conversation with pharmacist Abhay Patel during our PrescribeIT ^® panel webinar on March 28, 2019.

Do you regularly fill out quizzes or subscribe to apps that track and collect details about your health or wellness habits? If so, you’ve likely clicked “agree” without actually reading what you are agreeing to — and you are not alone.

I’ve been a practising physician for 10 years and, as a clinician, I’ve always understood the importance of giving patients access to their health information. A recent experience helped me see things from the patient’s point of view, making me even...

In our previous post we highlighted a leading insight from the 2018 Canadian Physician Survey where 92 per cent of family physicians who use six to nine EMR functionalities stated that they ‘provide more efficient health care with electronic records.’...

Physicians are extremely busy. That’s why it’s important to identify solutions that can increase efficiency. One such solution is meaningful use of electronic medical records (EMR) — physicians that use more advanced functionalities in their EMR report...

As a practicing physician it is imperative that my day-to-day effort is focused on providing the best patient care possible. Unfortunately, much of my time is spent on administrative duties. The bulk of the paperwork on my desk each day is communication...

This blog post builds upon a conversation with Dr. Neil Naik during our PrescribeIT® panel webinar on March 28, 2019. Eighty-five per cent of family physicians now use electronic medical records (EMRs). This has laid the groundwork for a further...