Blog: Infoway Connects

Posted on December 7, 2017 by Darlene Gallant

I first became involved in patient/health advocacy when I became an accidental advocate for my brother, who was dying from cancer. Following this, I was an advocate for my father when he was dying from cancer. My advocacy became a full time job and a life-changing purpose when my husband Dave was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). I went from being a spouse and a partner to being labeled a caregiver. During his illness, I became a patient advocate, advisor, partner and champion. Through this terrible period, I noted a lack of information, support and/or assistance for patients and their families diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

Posted on December 5, 2017 by Colleen McGavin

As one of the patient partners awarded a scholarship to attend this Patients Included conference, I was very grateful and pleased to be able to bring a patient lens to the event. We were warmly included and appreciated at the Partnership Conference. Because of my personal experience as a cancer patient who was treated in many care settings over more than a decade, I’m passionate about wanting to see change in how health records are managed and shared in this country, and I was encouraged to see advances being made.

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 16, 2017 by Sandy Pagotto

Despite the vast array of change management models available to plan and guide change, most change initiatives fail outright or fail to achieve their full promise. Often this is because the critical factors that impact people are missing or are not appropriately considered. Successful change needs management to plan and organize, and leadership to engage and lead people through the inevitable challenges of change.

Posted on November 16, 2017 by J. Tyler Moss 

My experience with eHealth Saskatchewan’s Citizen Health Information Portal (CHIP) began in the spring of 2016. A request went out to residents of Saskatchewan to sign on to the pilot project; I did, and became one of the initial 1,000 participants.

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Kate Perkins

In the spirit of celebrating Digital Health Week, we were curious to see what benefits evaluation reports peeked the interest of website visitors over the past three years. These evaluations help us understand how our investments impact Canadians and the health care system and help inform and improve future projects. Many researchers and jurisdictional leaders use the reports as lessons learned documents for implementing, adopting and promoting digital health tools.

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 November 13, 2017 by Nancy Lefebre

With an important focus in health care on person- and family-centered care, the move towards technology seems common-sense. People are using technology to make their lives easier. We have heard time and again, that people want care where they are — in their homes — and they want health care that seamlessly fits in to their lives. To do this successfully, we need to rethink and restructure the way care is delivered and funded, with technology as a key enabler to this. There is tremendous opportunity as we shift toward “home as the hub of care,” to expand the use of digital technology and integrated funding models. 

Posted on November 7, 2017, by Dr. Sunny Kumar

A few years ago, I met with a company that had designed a consumer grade technology to monitor the pattern and frequency of leg muscle contractions during cycling. The information would be fed back in real time to the individuals’ mobile device. The rationale for this was, knowledge of these parameters could improve performance and reduce injury. At the time, I recall thinking this was a “cool” innovation, but with limited impact.

Posted on November 03, 2017 by Chad Leaver

Follow @chadnandrew

Six years ago when I began my role at Infoway, adoption of electronic medial records among primary care practices in Canada was at 56 per cent. In the next two years, through partnerships and collaboration we established a growing body of evidence supporting the value of EMR use in primary care and released a national study in 2013 estimating the emerging value of EMR use in community-based care at $1.3 billion.

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 October 24, 2017 by Dr. Michael Hamilton

I’m looking forward to e-prescribing for the convenience and efficiency, but also for the potential enhancements in quality and safety.

Posted on October 17 by Garry Laxdal

In 2015, I was diagnosed with rectal cancer and immediately began both radiation and chemotherapy treatments followed by major surgery (abdominoperineal resection). This was followed by four additional months of chemotherapy. Prior to my cancer, I was a technology business owner and very active physically, golfing on average 100 times a year, and an avid hunter. The great news is I’m now two years post-surgery and all tests and scans since treatment are negative and the prognosis is good. While I’m a little disappointed that I’ve only golfed 97 times this year, I’m gearing up for another successful hunting season.

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Claire Bourget

Internet of Things refers to connected objects that have a variety of uses and a capacity to communicate and transfer data.

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Chad Leaver

Follow @chadnandrew

Summer theatre festivals across the country attract Canadians and travellers alike to experience the performing arts. Recently, I took in Guys and Dolls — the classic musical at the Stratford festival in Ontario. The reviews were right – an absolute sensation! Spontaneous applause erupted frequently after incredible dance and musical numbers...and every time the audience applauded, I couldn’t help but notice the white-lights, like stars, that illuminated the auditorium. I realized these ‘stars’ (and there were many) were in fact smart connected devices — wearables like watches, wristbands or bracelets — which are used to track health and well-being biometric data.

Posted on August 29, 2017 by Chad Leaver

Follow @chadnandrew

Across the world, citizen’s access to their own health information through secure online tools are becoming a hallmark of modernized health care systems and a catalyst for advancing access to health services and person-centered models of care.

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Kate Perkins

There is a lot happening in the digital health space — almost too much to wrap our heads around. To ensure clinician uptake, it is essential that digital health solutions and tools can be seamlessly integrated into clinician workflow. But what is becoming increasingly apparent is that the needs of patients are equally important. Since patients are an equal partner in their health care, doesn’t it make sense they have a say in which digital health tools are developed?

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Michael Green

While remaining focused on our vision of healthier Canadians through innovative digital health solutions during the 2016-2017 fiscal year, we continued to evolve Infoway’s approach to better serve Canadians.