A look at the future
An electronic health record (commonly known as an EHR) is a secure and private lifetime record of an individual's health and care history, available electronically to authorized health care providers.
It is designed to tie together the output of a number of information systems. Some of these systems are in use today, while others are in development. For example, a number of projects are underway across Canada to develop systems that form the essential building blocks of an electronic health record, such as digital imaging, summaries of drug prescriptions
and lab test results. Provinces and territories across Canada are working
together with Infoway to accelerate the development of these systems.
View a concept of what an electronic health record could look like once the projects have been completed.
Secure and complete
Privacy and security are fundamental to electronic health records. With access to complete records, doctors and clinicians will have far better information for decision making. This is especially critical when it comes to prescriptions and treatments that are being provided by multiple doctors or specialists, or when a patient is in an emergency situation.
Over the course of the year, we will work collaboratively with jurisdictions and privacy commissioners to implement an EHR information governance structure and will complete a conceptual EHR privacy impact assessment. We will also jointly conduct (with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and Health Canada) a comprehensive survey of public attitudes and concerns about privacy and electronic health records.
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