Blog: Infoway Connects

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Christine McGinley

As I enter my “prime” years of life (yes, the sixties), I find myself needing a few more prescriptions than in the past. At my last annual physical, my doctor gave me a handwritten prescription, which I quickly lost somewhere between the car and my home. Replacing it seemed like a huge hassle. I don’t know what shocked me more: the fact that I needed the prescription, the fact that I lost it, or the fact that it was handwritten, in our digital world.

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Jane Holden

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve often found myself grateful for the tools and technologies that have helped us to keep living our lives while grappling with this unprecedented health crisis. While we’ve remained apart, technology has helped us stay connected to our friends, our families and our health system. The experience of this pandemic has concretely demonstrated benefits associated with virtual care and other digital health tools. Does this mean Canadians are ready to embrace these new digital health technologies and models of care for the long term?

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Michael Green

Follow @MGreenonHealth

While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of virtual care across Canada, there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that it will be a viable alternative model of care well into the future. Canadians want virtual care, they like it, it’s safe, efficient and effective, and it saves everyone time and money.

Posted on January 26, 2021 by  Fraser Ratchford

Staying home and wearing masks is protecting our physical health — but it’s important to look after our mental health as well.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there is growing concern about Canadians’ mental health. According to a recent Infoway study, 21 per cent of Canadians reported a “fair” or “poor” mental health status in 2020, up from 17 per cent in 2019. Their use of digital mental health tools is increasing, too. In 2020, 16 per cent of Canadians stated that they’ve used an e-mental health service in the past, up from 12 per cent in 2019.

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Jamie Bruce

2020 was a year of immense innovation and resilience. From new partnerships with major retailers like Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart, to supporting the adoption of virtual care, to new educational initiatives, the importance of PrescribeIT’s role as a national e-prescribing service has never been clearer.

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Mario Voltolina

Canada’s health care system is a source of pride for most Canadians. We see health care in Canada as a reflection of who we are as a country, embodying our aspirations of innovation, fairness, caring, efficiency, equality, professionalism and standards of living.

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Dr. Rashaad Bhyat

When you’re feeling unwell, the last thing you want is to venture out on multiple errands. As we continue to stay home and implement physical distancing measures, I’m reminded of a story a patient recently related to me.

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Dr. Rashaad Bhyat

The zeitgeist of 2020 has already been well documented by many wise individuals. But suffice it to say, this has been a year like no other in recent memory, and one that has left an indelible mark on the health care landscape.

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Jamie Bruce

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed Canadians’ daily lives. Whether they’re staying masked or staying home, Canadians are making choices to protect their health and the health of their communities.

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Seema Nayani

Have you been wondering if e-prescribing is right for you? Are you curious about the details and impact on your workflow?

With Ask a Peer, we’re connecting you with health care professionals who have already begun their e-prescribing journey. Recently, we welcomed pharmacist Andy Donald and family physician Dr. Daniel Pepe to the Digital Health InfoCast to address some of your questions about PrescribeIT^®, Canada’s national e-prescribing service. Here are some highlights from our conversation (edited for clarity and brevity):

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Kelly Kuru and Kelly Davison

The 2020 agreement between SNOMED International and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) is an opportunity to highlight the clinical work of nursing. The ICN is a federation of more than 130 national nurses’ associations worldwide. Under the agreement, the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP) will be incorporated into SNOMED CT, the world’s most comprehensive clinical terminology with more than 350,000 active concepts, and SNOMED International will manage, produce and release the ICNP on behalf of ICN, which will maintain governance and ownership of the ICNP content.

Posted on November 16, 2020 by  Shelagh Maloney

Follow @12Maloney

I think it’s fair to say that 2020 hasn’t been what anyone expected — particularly for health care. But while this year has brought immense challenges to the health system, it has also served to highlight the progress we’ve made in implementing digital health across Canada. Digital Health Week (November 16-22) is a time to celebrate that progress, and to recognize the benefits of digital health to Canadians. This year, COVID-19 has reaffirmed the importance of virtual care as another option for care delivery.

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Suzanne McGurn

Follow @SuzanneMcgurn

This week, I’m proud to join Canadian health system leaders in celebrating Digital Health Week — a time to recognize how digital health is transforming the delivery of care.

When I think of the changes brought about by this pandemic, the “overnight” shift to virtual care stands out as among the most significant for Canadians. And although we’ve been talking about digital health for more than a decade, I believe we’re in the early stages of grasping its impact on patients, health care providers, policy-makers, regulators, public payers, and health technology assessment agencies.

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Seema Nayani

Has this ever happened to you? You’ve brought your prescription to the pharmacy, and the pharmacist wants to ask your prescriber a question about it. Unfortunately, the fax machine isn’t cooperating, and the phone line is busy.

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Daniel Kraft, MD

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care changed overnight. Old processes and business models were tossed out; our every assumption had to be questioned. While no one would ever wish for such an unprecedented public health emergency, there is no denying that COVID-19 has triggered years’ worth of innovation in health care within a few months, from accelerating the use of virtualized care, to new forms of point of care diagnostics. If there’s anything positive to be gained from this crisis, perhaps it’s having the opportunity — and obligation ­— to think collaboratively about bringing health care into the future.

Posted on October 27, 2020 by Dr. Peter Selby

As the COVID-19 pandemic upends Canadians’ daily lives, a surge in opioid-related overdoses continues across Canada. Nearly 15,400 Canadians died from an opioid-related overdose between January 2016 and December 2019. While 2020 data continues to be analyzed, Ontario’s coroner reported a 25 per cent increase in the number of opioid-related deaths so far this year.

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Ann-Marie Westgate

Fall is often a time when we think about new starts and new beginnings. Like many parents, I have a stepson starting university. As a security professional, I worry about an online world that has become even more “virtualized” as a result of COVID-19. Not only are classes online, but bank accounts, student loans, social events and the bookstore exist only in this virtual space. Students connect with other students, their professors, academic advisors, teaching assistants and others using their smartphones, computers and other devices.

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Andrea MacLean

World Standards Day (October 14) recognizes the collaborative efforts of experts across the globe to develop the standards underpinning our work in digital health. This year, the fragility of our human, health and environmental systems feels particularly exposed. And so, it feels entirely fitting to me that the theme of World Standards Day 2020 is “Protecting the Planet with Standards.” Standards don’t just enable data to flow more freely; they have important environmental benefits as well.

Posted on October 6, 2020 by Joel Francis

Whether you’re a physician sending diagnostic imaging across the country or a patient checking lab results on a smartphone, it’s essential that different health information systems and devices can talk to each other. This mutually intelligible flow of information between systems is interoperability, and it is essential to effective digital health, especially in Canada, where different provinces and territories look after their own systems.