Technology permeates virtually every aspect of our lives; for example, it has fundamentally changed the way we learn, shop, bank, and travel. Many Canadians who encounter our health care system wonder why much of their health information remains paper-based.
Ten years ago, Canada’s First Ministers agreed to collaborate on replacing paper-based filing with electronic health record systems. They recognized that moving patient health information into the 21st century is key to achieving major health care reforms, supporting a more sustainable health system and improving the patient experience through increased clinical value.
While much has been accomplished since those early days, a lot of work remains before Canada’s hundreds of thousands of health care providers adopt and use electronic systems. Clinicians need to learn to use the new hardware and amend their workflows in order to yield the value.
While we know health care does not look good on paper and we would all like to have these systems fully in place and adopted today, there are numerous barriers and challenges to overcome. Simply put, we cannot get there in one step.
Please join us for lunch on December 2nd as Graham Scott, Board Chair of Canada Health Infoway, outlines where Canada is heading in its efforts to modernize health care systems throughout the country and the major obstacles that need to be overcome to accomplish this.
