Blog: Infoway Connects

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Bobby Gheorghiu and Seema Nayani

It may be a surprising stat to some, but roughly 30 per cent of prescriptions generated in Canada by prescribers for their patients go unfilled.¹ Reasons range from prescriptions that are lost or damaged, to the cost of the medications, to forgetfulness, to not wanting to take the medication, and many others. Medication non-adherence could result in a worsening of a patient’s condition and, potentially, more frequent hospitalization and/or emergency department visits. According to a World Health Organization report, medication non-adherence accounts for five per cent of Canadian hospital admissions and five per cent of physician visits, resulting in an additional $4 billion in health care costs annually.¹

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Poonam Khanna

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I recently had an appointment with a specialist and she provided me with a prescription and booked a follow-up appointment in a month to check whether the medication was working. She also mentioned that sometimes the medication takes a good two weeks to start working. So the clock was ticking…I wanted to start the medication right away so it would have time to kick in (if it worked) before my follow-up.

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 8, 2018 by Michael Green

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As I mentioned in Part One of this blog post, Infoway recently released the results of a pan-Canadian study about the value of connected health information. Connected Health Information in Canada: A Benefits Evaluation Study, found that the growing use of connected health information — the information exchanged using interoperable electronic health records (iEHRs) and complementary solutions for sharing information between providers and organizations — is producing significant financial and time saving benefits for patients, providers, our health system and our economy.

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 April 24, 2018 by Michael Green

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Infoway’s commitment to accountability for taxpayers’ funds has been recognized once again in an independent performance evaluation.

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Michelle Wright

At Island Health, we believe in assessing the value of the projects we undertake, and I was brought on to Island Health’s Home Health Monitoring (HHM) team to help evaluate the program and produce a report measuring the program’s overall success. One of the key factors I looked at was the use of acute care (inpatient admissions and ED visits) for clients who are eligible to participate in Home Health Monitoring at Island Health for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or heart failure.

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 January 30, 2018 by Michael Green

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Canadians are proud of our universal health care system, but despite the money we spend on it, research shows that our country ranks at or near the bottom in international comparisons of timely, equitable access to appropriate care.

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Sukirtha Tharmalingam

What does connected health information mean to you? For me, it means that when I show up at my upcoming medical appointment with my midwife who is managing my pregnancy, she can see my latest lab test results to make sure my iron and glucose levels are in check. She can also see that I’ve recently had a wrist injury and had an ultrasound done. The ultrasound, ordered by my family doctor was conducted in a private lab. Results were sent back to my family doctor, who referred me to a sports medicine specialist for diagnosis and treatment. That is my health information connected.

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Rashaad Bhyat

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We live in the age of information.

Medicine in particular is experiencing a rapid expansion of the volume of knowledge¹, and physicians must manage this information efficiently to care effectively for their patients.

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Jeff Green

There are many new and exciting initiatives underway at Infoway including PrescribeIT^TM, Canada’s national e-prescribing solution, which has made incredible progress in the past 18 months.

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.