Blog: Infoway Connects

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Maureen Charlebois and Jennifer Zelmer

It’s always wonderful to see a friend receive well-deserved recognition so we are delighted to celebrate Dr. Kathryn Hannah’s appointment as a Member (C.M.) of the Order of Canada on July 1, 2015. The honour was bestowed upon her for her efforts to advance the use of health care technology in Canada. It reflects Kathryn’s deep contributions to health informatics in Canada and elsewhere.

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Keren Taylor-Hughes

Successful change leaders need knowledge that covers many areas due to the wide range of changes they lead and the people they support. I have tried to compile a list of skills and knowledge areas a change leader should have, acknowledging not all change leaders can have all them all.

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Mark Nenadovic

Before I took on a new role as the Group Director for Infoway’s Certification Services program, Infoway had partnered with the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) to conduct a joint review of digital health certification services in Canada.

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Simon Hagens

We at Infoway, and a few of our partners, had some nagging questions about our healthcare system. Questions for which we needed answers, but didn’t have them: duplication rates for tests and exams, follow-up rates for abnormal tests, or the impact of prompt discharge summaries on re-admission. I would imagine many of you have unanswered questions, too.

Posted on June 15, 1015 by Cassie Frazer

The benefits of electronic patient appointment booking (“e-booking”) seem to be straightforward and easy to anticipate for patients. Compared to conventional appointment scheduling, e-booking is convenient, saves time and can result in improved patient and provider satisfaction. Generally speaking, once a practice has begun to use an e-booking solution, their patients and staff cannot imagine ever going back.

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Judith Morley

National Cancer Survivors Day is June 7. As a cancer survivor, I am marking this a special day by sharing my story of how digital health helped me throughout my cancer journey.

I had never heard of digital health when a routine colonoscopy led to a devastating cancer diagnosis in January 2008. By the time I was declared cancer-free seven years later, I was not only an avid user of digital health, I wouldn’t dream of giving it up.

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Shelagh Maloney

No one likes taking time from their busy lives to go to the doctor’s office. Imagine if that trip required hours of travel? Worse still, imagine making that trip while dealing with pain and mobility issues caused by arthritis — all for a simple follow-up. These are the issues many of Dr. Léo Picard’s patients have to deal with, and this is why he uses telehealth.

Posted on May 28, 2015; Authored by: Dr. Peter Rossos, CMIO & Gastroenterologist, UHN and Trevor Hodge, Executive Vice President, Canada Health Infoway

CMIO & Gastroenterologist, UHN

There is no doubt that we have made great strides in Canada on increasing adoption and use of digital health systems. Surveys are now showing that more than 250,000 Canadian healthcare professionals currently depend on access to electronic health information from outside their organizations to make treatment decisions. But we all know that to deliver the best possible care, we still need to increase the data and information flow among clinicians and organizations when and where it’s needed. And we are still a long way from being done.

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Shelagh Maloney

Couldn’t we all use a little more time in the day? More time for family … more time for fun? I know I could and I know I’m not alone.

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Shelagh Maloney

One of the very last events of the 2014 eHealth Conference in Vancouver last year was a meeting of the 2015 Conference Steering Committee to start planning for this year’s conference. It’s hard to believe that the year has gone by so quickly and that e-Health 2015 is now just weeks away. Like anything that has been in the works for months, it’s exciting to watch the plans come together.

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Nicole Hodgkinson

Only a third of those who need mental health services in Canada actually receive them, which is why the theme of this year’s annual Mental Health Week, “GET LOUD,” is appropriate.

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Shelagh Maloney

Remote patient care (RPC) is just one digital health innovation that is transforming the delivery of health care in Canada. Infoway recently released a new whiteboard animation that explores the benefits of RPC (also known as remote patient monitoring or RPM), and the benefits are many.

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Michael Green

As part of our 2007 funding agreement with the federal government, which provided a $400 million grant, Infoway recently underwent an independent performance evaluation and I’m pleased to say the results were once again positive! This is the second evaluation for this funding agreement, following another in March 2010. We are pleased that all performance evaluations and audits required by our funding agreements have been consistently positive.

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Dr. Rashaad Bhyat

“The life so short, the craft so long to learn” - Hippocrates

Not that long ago, medical students and resident physicians had limited exposure to digital technologies in their formal training. I remember that during my residency, for example, library services and information technology were lumped together into a brisk afternoon training session.

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Bobby Gheorghiu

From system efficiencies, to enhanced care, the shift from film-based medical images to digital ones has been an unqualified success across the country with significant benefits realized for radiologists, patients and the health system overall.

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Valerie Leung

When a colleague likened the development of the Informatics for Pharmacy Students e-Resource to a proverbial “barn-raising,” I was intrigued.

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Shelagh Maloney

January is tough! It’s back to work after the holidays, the weather is lousy and I’m faced with the guilt that I’ve never made a resolution that I’ve kept for more than a week – except for the year that I resolved not to make any resolutions!

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Rose Serjak

When I talk with family and friends, I am able to share a lot of information with them about the progress that has been made in digital health in Canada. Thanks to Digital Health Week shining the spotlight on this progress, Canadians who might not have been “in the know” are now able to start their own conversations about the impact that digital health is having on their lives, and the promise it holds for the future.

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Lynne Zucker

We often talk about digital health as a journey. A fully digital health system in Canada is coming together albeit with lots of starts and stops on the way. We, the professionals engaged in the journey, alternate between enthusiasm and fatigue. The complexity of connecting systems together, sharing information across organization boundaries while adhering to all organization policies, supporting clinical practice and maintaining the utmost respect for the patient, is not a trivial challenge.