Posted on November 16, 2020 by Suzanne McGurn

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This week, I’m proud to join Canadian health system leaders in celebrating Digital Health Week — a time to recognize how digital health is transforming the delivery of care.

When I think of the changes brought about by this pandemic, the “overnight” shift to virtual care stands out as among the most significant for Canadians. And although we’ve been talking about digital health for more than a decade, I believe we’re in the early stages of grasping its impact on patients, health care providers, policy-makers, regulators, public payers, and health technology assessment agencies.

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Daniel Kraft, MD

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care changed overnight. Old processes and business models were tossed out; our every assumption had to be questioned. While no one would ever wish for such an unprecedented public health emergency, there is no denying that COVID-19 has triggered years’ worth of innovation in health care within a few months, from accelerating the use of virtualized care, to new forms of point of care diagnostics. If there’s anything positive to be gained from this crisis, perhaps it’s having the opportunity — and obligation ­— to think collaboratively about bringing health care into the future.

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Anne Baldwin 

When PrescribeIT^® launched in Lethbridge, AB, in February 2018, it was the first community in the province to use the e-prescribing service. It was also among the first in the country. As early adopters, Lethbridge prescribers and pharmacists had a unique opportunity to help make the service the best it could be, a prospect they actively took up.

“We were one of the initial PrescribeIT^® users,” says Dr. David Steward, a physician with Family Medical Centre in Lethbridge. “We tested it and tried to help alleviate some of the challenges that were initially there.”

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Katie Bryski

Have you ever wondered where a work day has gone? A few minutes troubleshooting here and there can add up with astonishing speed. In a busy clinic, those small diversions carry a heavy weight.

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Dr. Rashaad Bhyat

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 unnoticed — consequences of these advancements.

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Ellie Yu

In our previous post, we discussed the expansion of Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone and the demographics of its users. Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone is available across Canada. In just one year, there have been more than 140,000 texting conversations with young people across the country and more than 10 active rescues and lives saved every day.

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Ellie Yu

Over the past few years, Infoway has been investing in the expansion of Kids Help Phone services to young people in Canada. Kids Help Phone is the only 24/7, national support service in Canada that offers professional counselling, information and referrals, and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in both English and French. A young person who needs mental health support can reach Kids Help Phone by phone, text, mobile app or through a website, whenever they want, however they want.

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Krista Balenko

Canadians with mental health issues are struggling to navigate the health system and often don’t know where to begin, resulting in trips to hospital emergency departments or, sadly, doing nothing at all. There is also still a stigma associated with having a mental illness that makes it difficult for them to reach out for help.

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Michael Green

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It takes just one simple online search to uncover all sorts of dangers and warnings around social media use. From loss of productivity to impairing sleep, there is no lack of research or experts citing the downsides of online communities and digital mediums for communication. One area in particular that has often made media headlines is how social media has been found to affect the mental health of Canadians across the country — especially youth.

Posted on May 24, 2018 by Krista Balenko, Jennifer Conn and Simon Hagens

Over the past decade, Infoway has been investing in telehomecare (also known as remote patient monitoring or RPM) programs in Canada, delivering health services to patients in the comfort of their own home. A provider (typically a nurse or paramedic) has electronic access to the patient’s information for review, interpretation and coaching opportunities to enhance the patient’s self-management abilities. These programs are available across much of the country and have served 31,500 Canadians since 2010. View the previous blog post for more information or videos on telehomecare in general.

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Timothy Luk, Maggie Clark, and Shahab Shahnazari

MaRS Discovery District (MaRS), the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research officially announced the winners of the Healthy Behaviour Data Challenge at Health Datapalooza in Washington D.C. on April 26, 2018.

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Matt Smith

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Now in its 18^th year, the e-Health Conference continues to provide a unique opportunity for attendees to collaborate under one roof with professionals from technical, policy and business backgrounds. Whether you go for the keynote presenters and expert panelists or the receptions and social events, there is no shortage of ways to stay connected with Canada’s digital health leaders.

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Chelsea Burnell, RN BScN

If you had told me 10 years ago that I would be remotely monitoring patients with chronic diseases using smart devices in the comfort of their homes I would never have believed you.

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Linda V

When I was growing up, I wanted to be just like my big sister and one day I discovered that, alas, it was happening. I didn’t get her long black hair, rapier wit or superior intelligence. Instead, I got her chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and her prescription for home oxygen. There was one major difference, however. She got homebound and depressed and I got telehomecare and an amazing support system.

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Heather Pezzola

So what is telehomecare and what does it do?

Telehomecare is a remote monitoring system where a patient, with a specific, identified chronic disease is set up in their home with monitoring devices such as an electronic tablet, blood pressure cuff, oximeter and scale. The patient electronically sends their blood pressure, oxygen saturation level, pulse, weight (lumped together, called vital signs), as well as responses to various health questions at a set frequency to a nurse. This information is reviewed by the nurse for significant changes and indications of change in health. The nurse will follow up with the patient with any directions in health care needs and provide routine education on the patient’s chronic disease.

Posted on October 26, 2017 by Timothy Luk and Shahab Shahnazari

Finalists for Phase 1 of the Healthy Behaviour Data Challenge — an initiative designed to find innovative way to identify new data sources and methods for monitoring public health — have been selected. Successful submissions were received from academic and private sector teams from across Canada, with intriguing concepts such as use of home thermostats, smartphone sensors, and social media activity to track and measure indicators of healthy behaviour.

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Timothy Luk and Shahab Shahnazari

Traditionally, public health data are collected at the institutional or local level using a variety of methods including self-reported surveys, telephone interviews or online questionnaires. This information is then transferred to a regional authority before reaching a central, nationwide repository for aggregation and analysis.

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Selina Brudnicki

The world of patient portals and patient engagement is on the verge of transformational change. The change has the potential to transition ‘patients’ from being passive recipients of health care to ‘people’ taking charge and becoming more responsible leaders of their own health.

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Krista Balenko

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In today’s digital age, we get automated reminders for everything... birthdays, meetings, appointments, prompts to take medications, encouragements to take more steps in a day and the list goes on... Most are helpful, some are useful, but I know of a couple that have been quietly contributing to a significant reduction in hospital and emergency department admissions for some high-risk patient populations.