Canada's electronic health record projects have quadrupled since 2004, according to the head of the Canadian health IT agency. Investment in EHRs is said to have increased by 12% in the past year alone.
Canada Health Infoway - an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the Canadian government - jointly invests with every province or territory in the country to advance EHR adoption.
According to Richard Alvarez, president and CEO of Canada Health Infoway, the agency has invested a total of €980m ($1.46 billion Canadian dollars), including €196m ($311.5m Canadian dollars), in 2007-2008, in EHR adoption.
The Canadian government has allocated €1.01 billion ($1.6 billion Canadian dollars) for Canada Health Infoway. There are now 254 EHR projects under way in Canada, up from 53 projects in 2004.
Canadians want their medical information available electronically to the clinicians who care for them," said Alvarez. "And that's starting to happen in communities across Canada. Collaboration among governments is at an all-time high and with continued federal funding, we are well on our way to providing every Canadian with an electronic health record by 2016."
"The electronic health record projects the government of Canada is investing in are coming alive, bringing tangible results to Canadians and the clinicians who care for them," said the Honourable Tony Clement, Federal Minister of Health.
Examples of projects that Infoway has helped local health bodies achieve include a shared diagnostic imaging programme in Nova Scotia, which provides digital images of X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds to authorised health practitioners where and when they're needed.
In addition, patients in remote northern communities are connected with health care professionals in urban centres through telehealth, improving their access to care; and electronic medical records are generating much-needed efficiencies in the face of growing clinician shortages, increasing chronic disease and growing administrative demands.
Other progress has been achieved across a wide range of electronic health record programs including registries, diagnostic imaging, and laboratory and drug programs.
Infoway says it continues to target investments in replicable solutions that support health system transformation, such as telehealth and public health surveillance.
