E-health must be a priority, researchers say
System would bolster chronic disease management and improve
access to care
An electronic health record system should be the backbone of health
care reform in Canada and more must be done to speed up the
implementation of this initiative across the country. Furthermore,
for this system to be put in place effectively, doctors and front
line health care workers and administrators must be encouraged to
play a more active role. These are the findings of an innovative
new study assessing the effectiveness Canada Health Infoway’s
e-health plan. The study, which was conducted by scientists at the
Research Institute of the ۲ݮƵ University Health Centre (MUHC)
and ۲ݮƵ University, was published today in CMAJ (Canadian
Medical Association Journal).
“For all levels of care, but particularly primary care, which is
where most care is provided in western countries, Canada and US
have the lowest adoption of e-health records,” says Dr. Robyn
Tamblyn, lead author of the study and a medical scientist at the
Research Institute of the MUHC. “We have some urgent issues to
address to ensure that improved management of chronic disease and
timely access to care is enabled through e-health
technologies.”
The Canada Health Infoway project was implemented by the federal
government in 2001 with the goal of accelerating e-health
implementation and creating a national system of interoperable
electronic health records. After 10 years and $1.6 billion of
investment in 280 health information technology projects, Canada
still lags behind countries such as Denmark, the UK, and New
Zealand.
“We need an e-health policy that aligns the spending in health
information technology with our priorities in the health care
system,“ says Dr. Tamblyn, who is also a professor in the
Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and
Occupational Health at ۲ݮƵ University. “We also need to address
privacy issues and support clinical leadership.”
The researchers interviewed key stakeholders from national and
provincial organizations in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario,
who are responsible for policy and leadership in health information
technology. The objective was to look at both the successes and
lessons learned in order to define needs and facilitate the
adoption of e-health records in Canada.
The results showed that Canada Health Infoway has met with some
success in setting up standards and developing a plan for provinces
to compare notes and share resources, but that more work needs to
be done to improve and speed-up the implementation of health
information technologies to support challenges in delivering the
best care for all Canadians. “Canada needs to drive this initiative
from the clinical grass roots level to regional integration,” says
Dr. Tamblyn. “The potential of this project could represent a
significant return on investment.”
About the Study
The study entitled “A qualitative study of Canada’s experience with
the implementation of electronic health information technology” was
made possible by grants from The Commonwealth Fund and the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research.
The Research Institute of the ۲ݮƵ University Health
Centre (RI MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and
health-care hospital research centre. Research is organized by
eleven research axes (or programs). Located in Montreal, Quebec,
Canada, the Institute is the research arm of the ۲ݮƵ University
Health Centre affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at ۲ݮƵ
University. The Institute supports over 600 researchers, 1,000
graduate students, post-docs and fellows devoted to a broad
spectrum of fundamental and clinical research. Over 1000 clinical
research studies are conducted within our hospitals each year. The
Research Institute of the MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de
la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ).
About ۲ݮƵ University
۲ݮƵ University, founded in Montreal, Que., in 1821, is Canada’s
leading post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11
faculties, 10 professional schools, 300 programs of study and more
than 35,000 students. ۲ݮƵ attracts students from more than 150
countries around the world. Almost half of ۲ݮƵ students claim a
first language other than English – including 6,200 francophones –
with more than 6,800 international students making up almost 20 per
cent of the student body.