Ottawa - Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo, heard this week from the Auditor General of Canada that Canada Health Infoway Inc. is making great strides in delivering Canada’s health care technology of tomorrow.

Infoway is a not-for-profit, arms-length organization created in 2001 and funded by the federal government.  It is tasked to foster and accelerate the development and adoption of electronic health records (EHR) across Canada in concert with the provinces and territories.  Infoway’s ultimate goal is to streamline the health system in Canada by creating electronic patient records that can easily be accessed by patients and their health care providers, enabling them to share, access, manage and safeguard essential health care information.

“In my previous work as a nurse, I was able to see firsthand the benefits of EHRs.  Interior Health was one of the first organizations in Canada to implement a digital x-ray system supported by Infoway,” said McLeod.  “With this technology, a health care provider in another doctor’s office, another city, even another part of Canada can have instant access to a patient’s x-rays rather than waiting for the x-ray film to be sent by mail.  This is just one example of the benefits wide access to EHR will have for our health care system,” she added.

In her testimony to the Standing Committee on Health this week, Auditor General Sheila Fraser outlined the findings of her report on Infoway’s progress in their goals of providing EHR coverage for 50 percent of Canadians by 2010 and 100 percent of Canadians by 2016.

“Overall, we found that Infoway has accomplished a lot since its inception and that it manages well the $1.2 billion in funds granted by the federal government to achieve its goal… Infoway has set the national direction for the implementation of EHRs by developing an approach, as well as the key requirements and components of an EHR,” said Ms. Fraser.

While she applauded the progress made by Infoway to date, Ms. Fraser noted that challenges do remain, including ensuring the compatibility of the EHR system with existing health records, guaranteeing the privacy and security of the system, and ensuring that 50 percent of Canadians will have EHRs by 2010.  Ms. Fraser added that Infoway has agreed with her recommendations and is developing an action plan to deal with these challenges.

“Thanks to the growing use of EHR technology, many Canadians are already realizing some significant benefits such as faster, more accurate diagnosis, shorter wait times for treatment, safer prescriptions and better access to chronic disease management” said McLeod.