QUESTION: I’ve had the same family doctor for 20 years and I do like her. But my medical records are still on paper and my doctor has no plans to convert to an electronic system. That makes me wonder how up-to-date she is with other medical advances. What could be the hold-up?
Click here to read the answer or more on the subject.
http://health.sunnybrook.ca/navigator/doctors-specialists-electronic-health-records/
In the not too distant future, Albertans will be able to book a medical appointment, track their cholesterol level, or check their blood tests in a new patient health portal through Alberta Health Services.
Health Minister Sarah Hoffman says the new system is intended to put more power into patient hands.
“Getting results from their lab tests to making sure they (patients) know that a referral has been received by the specialist, that’s a piece of technology we’re hoping to get into the hands of many Albertans.”
Read more at http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-to-launch-portal-so-patients-can-track-health-data-online-1.3921866
Technology runs the world — and 2016 was the year to prove it.
The internet and the gadgets it runs on were at the centre of several of the year’s biggest stories, most notably the U.S. presidential election.
From Facebook’s alleged fake news problem and concerns Russian hackers may have targeted the U.S. presidential election, technology was at the helm of America’s political narrative.
But consumers were also subjected to an increasing amount of cyberattacks and hacking scandals, at least one of which drew attention to the danger of web-connected home devices.
Experts warn the year ahead could be even more volatile when it comes to cyberattacks.
“For example, wouldn’t it make sense that anytime a patient has lab tests completed anywhere in the province that the results of these tests would be immediately sent to the records in each of their doctors’ offices?”
Minister Eric Hoskins’ Bill 41 continues to be confounding for many physicians, but possibly the most consistent question I am hearing is: Why do we need another layer of bureaucracy? How will sub-LHINs improve the system? One very intriguing twitter answer that I received suggested that this extra bureaucratic layer will serve as “administrative infrastructure” for primary care. That is something worth considering since I agree that Family Doctors need much more support than they are currently receiving.
Before I move directly into the discussion, I want to stress that I am not including those primary care providers who are not physicians in this consideration. The reason is that I want to focus on the infrastructure resources needed to deliver primary care and the Nurse Practitioner- led clinics are tremendously well-resourced, with all expenses already covered by the government, a luxury that physicians cannot access to the same degree which is the point here.
Read more at https://drgailbeck.com/2016/10/28/bill-41-infrastructure-investment/
Interesting article written in the Huffington Post this week regarding EMR and changes in the medical software landscape. Seems that there is a lot being written on the potential use of patient data. As quoted in the article “value assessment of Ontario’s digital health assets and all related intellectual property and infrastructure.” This is starting to make some question the long term plans for your personal medical data in Ontario.
Last week, Ontario’s Liberal Government announced plans to consider monetizing the data stored by eHealth Ontario. In an open letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Business Adviser Ed Clark, Health Minister Eric Hoskins asked him to do a “value assessment of Ontario’s digital health assets and all related intellectual property and infrastructure.” Additionally, he asked that Clark look at ways to “maximize the value of these assets.“
This type of data is a treasure trove for private businesses and would be worth a lot of money to them. Just look at how Facebook has been able to monetize the personal information it has stored on all its “friends.”
But wait, isn’t your personal health data stored at your physician’s office, not at eHealth?
Read more online at http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sohail-gandhi/ehealth-monetization_b_12431972.html
