Canadian health records going online

Ontario's Privacy Commissioner even keeps her electronic health record, called MyChart, on a memory stick, a device the size of a pack of gum that neatly tucks into a pants pocket.

"Given that I travel extensively, it's very important to have access to my [medical] records at a moment's notice," said Ann Cavoukian, who has undergone neurosurgery three times.

Although MyChart is available only to patients at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, other Canadian hospitals are coming out with their own versions of the paperless health record.

"By 2010, the goal is to have half of the population with an electronic health record," said Richard Alvarez, president and chief executive officer of Canada Health Infoway, an independent, federally funded agency that works with provinces and territories to invest in electronic health-record projects, typically by funding half the cost. By 2016, he wants every Canadian to have one.

Globe and Mail - Your medical chart, just a mouse click away - February 18, 2008

Canadian Canada Health Infoway has been like the multibillion dollar project no one has ever heard of, but they seem to be slowly raising their profile of late.  Their entire site is was down (well, unreachable from my computer anyway) at the moment when I tried to access it this morning (hopefully not a harbinger of things to come), but you can of course read the brief info on Wikipedia.

UPDATE: I can reach the site now.  There's also lots of info at

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/partners/free/infoway/

Comments

[Jyotika Malhotra]

Hi Richard,

The site is up (and was up yesterday as per our log files). You can get more information about Canada Health Infoway at: http://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/.

Regards, /Jyotika

Jyotika Malhotra
Manager, Web/eMarketing, Canada Health Infoway