Canada Health Infoway
Encyclopedia
Canada Health Infoway is an independent, federally-funded, not-for-profit organization
tasked with accelerating the development of electronic health record
s (EHR) across Canada
. As a strategic investor, they work with Canadian provinces and territories with the goal of creating an electronic health record for 50% of Canadians by the end of 2010. Infoway’s members are Canada's 14 federal, provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers of Health. Infoway's investments are prioritized toward local, provincial and national projects which align with the Pan-Canadian EHR Blueprint, itself developed by Infoway. Beyond these strategic investments, Infoway has no mandate to enforce compliance, as Canadian healthcare is generally governed at the Provincial level.
Development of a network of effective interoperable electronic health record solutions across Canada – linking clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other points of care – is intended to improve access to health care services for Canadians, enhance their quality of care and make the health care system more efficient.
Infoway has also recently developed a pan-Canadian electronic health information standard, leveraging the existing HL7v3
standards.
It is reported that as of December 31, 2008 there were 276 EHR projects under way in Canadian hospitals, other health-care facilities, pharmacies and laboratories, with an investment value of $1.5-billion from Canada Health Infoway.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
tasked with accelerating the development of electronic health record
Electronic Health Record
An electronic health record is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations...
s (EHR) across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. As a strategic investor, they work with Canadian provinces and territories with the goal of creating an electronic health record for 50% of Canadians by the end of 2010. Infoway’s members are Canada's 14 federal, provincial and territorial Deputy Ministers of Health. Infoway's investments are prioritized toward local, provincial and national projects which align with the Pan-Canadian EHR Blueprint, itself developed by Infoway. Beyond these strategic investments, Infoway has no mandate to enforce compliance, as Canadian healthcare is generally governed at the Provincial level.
Development of a network of effective interoperable electronic health record solutions across Canada – linking clinics, hospitals, pharmacies and other points of care – is intended to improve access to health care services for Canadians, enhance their quality of care and make the health care system more efficient.
Projects
Since 2001, Infoway has approved projects in the following targeted program areas:- Diagnostic Imaging Systems
- Drug Information Systems
- Infostructure
- Innovation and Adoption
- Interoperable EHR
- Laboratory Information Systems
- Patient Access to Quality Care
- Public Health Surveillance
- Registries
- Telehealth
Goals
The goal of Canada Health Infoway is to contribute to the development of a network of EHR systems, in order to enable efficient communication between health care professionals and bringing a deeper understanding of patient needs. The results of the project may include shorter medical procedure wait times, safer prescriptions and better access to quality health care, and may dramatically improve health care for Canadians.Infoway has also recently developed a pan-Canadian electronic health information standard, leveraging the existing HL7v3
Health Level 7
Health Level Seven , is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization involved in development of international healthcare informatics interoperability standards...
standards.
It is reported that as of December 31, 2008 there were 276 EHR projects under way in Canadian hospitals, other health-care facilities, pharmacies and laboratories, with an investment value of $1.5-billion from Canada Health Infoway.
See also
- Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada
- European Institute for Health RecordsEuropean Institute for Health RecordsThe European Institute for Health Records or EuroRec Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 2002 as part of the ProRec initiative. On 13 May 2003, the institute was established as a non-profit organization under French law. Current President of EuroRec is Prof. Georges De Moor...
- National Resource Center for Health Information TechnologyNational Resource Center for Health Information TechnologyIn 2004, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality of the United States Department of Health and Human Services created the to support over 125 federal grants and contracts that are demonstrating the value and implementation of information technology in health care .With leadership from the...
(USA) - ISO TC 215
- RTSSRTSSRTSS stands for Réseau de télécommunications sociosanitaire. It is the internal network of the health sector of the province of Québec and administered by Québec's Ministry of Health and Social Services....