How We Work
Canada has adopted a unique strategic investor role that brings together a collaborative engagement model, a shared governance model and a gated funding approach. This approach enables Infoway to make focused investments and spur the development of electronic health record solutions across the country.
Our gated funding approach ties reimbursement to the achievement of specific implementation milestones, including end-user adoption by clinicians and allows for management of risk.
As a strategic investor, Infoway:
- invests with partners
- is involved in project planning
- monitors progress of projects and quality of deliverables
We also provide leadership, expertise and pan-Canadian services to support EHR deployment across Canada.
Read more about our current business priorities in the 2008-2009 Corporate Business Plan.
Leadership in Canada
As strategic investor, we work collaboratively with jurisdictional partners to develop and share the long-term health infostructure vision for Canada. We also facilitate national collaboration to ensure that public and private sector stakeholders jointly plan, share best practices and continually improve the deployment of the pan-Canadian health infostructure.
Consulting with leaders in all areas of the Canadian health care sector, Infoway has developed 2015: Advancing Canada's Next Generation of Health Care — a comprehensive strategy for the next 10 years of investment in health care information systems. Need a quick summary of the 2015 report? Read At a glance.
Collaboration with stakeholders
Health ministries and other partners
Infoway's investments must be closely aligned with the priorities of the health ministries in each province and territory, as well as other public sector partners who are the implementers of these solutions. Collaboration is an essential element of our strategy — including a continual alignment of our investment programs with each jurisdiction's EHR strategy and implementation plans.
Infoway's approach includes initial consultations with the health ministries, chief information officers, chief privacy officers and other partners to understand jurisdictional EHR strategies, issues and priorities and to identify mutual areas of interest. We then work together with the jurisdiction to determine appropriate investments and the best solutions.
The private sector
Effective alliances with the private sector can help Infoway better leverage its investment dollars, and better align the information technology (IT) industry's business directions with our goals. Infoway's emphasis on interoperability and vendor-neutral architecture and standards generates interest from many potential IT partners, and allows our health care partners to reduce costs and obtain upfront financing from vendors and suppliers.
Health care providers
Infoway focuses on building solutions and adoption strategies that encourage acceptance and adoption of EHR solutions by clinicians such as physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Our end-user collaboration process includes:
- An end-user acceptance strategy and investment in projects that actively engage clinical leaders to collaborate with and support their peers in implementing EHR solutions.
- Investment in projects supporting models of care that integrate EHRs into clinical workflow and can clearly demonstrate the benefits of EHRs to end-users, patients and other health care system stakeholders.
- Investment in projects that promote a continuous EHR learning environment for end-users.
Knowledge transfer and sharing
Infoway, through its Knowledge Transfer and Sharing Strategy supports and complements the efforts of our public and private sector partners, working to implement electronic health care solutions as part of the overall goal to establish a pan-Canadian EHR. Knowledge transfer is embedded in all of Infoway's investments to identify, capture and disseminate information, best practices and new knowledge from all projects.
Expertise
Following on the success of our pan-Canadian architecture, we are also actively shaping related reference solutions such as a privacy and security conceptual architecture, supporting procurement processes and providing ongoing technical expertise and support to jurisdictional projects. To ensure the successful transition and adoption of the electronic health record by clinicians, we are advancing the implementation of best practices that serve to coordinate change cycles and minimize the frequency of change experienced by clinicians at the point of care. In addition, we are collaborating with researchers and jurisdictions to develop methods and tools to measure the benefits arising from the use of the electronic health record.
Services
We also lead and coordinate a range of national projects including, but not limited to, the development of pan-Canadian standards, preferred/national pricing agreements, end-user strategies and benefits evaluation. With respect to standards, the organization provides national standards collaboration, education and training, conformance, and maintenance services. We also support the operation of HL7 Canada and serve as Canada's representative to the global SNOMED CT® standards development organization.