CanadianEMR: EMR Comparisons, Ratings, Directory Services and Expert Discussions

Lessons Learned from Successful National EMR Programs

What does it take to set up an run a successful national EMR program? What can we learn from countries that have been able to establish programs with high levels of adoption and use by physicians?

Listen to this podcast interview with two world experts in this area. Professor Denis Protti and Professor Abdul Roudsari from the Department of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria.

Add your thoughts by clicking on the 'Comments' link below

Roundtable Forum - Personal Health Records and Patient Portals - Benefit and Challenges

In this Roundtable Forum, a national group of panelists debates the benefits and challenges associated with Personal Health Records (PHRs) and Patient Portals. As health systems migrate towards electronic health records, personal health records have gained increasing prominence as software giants Microsoft and Google each released their respective PHRs. With all of this information being collected and shared in PHRs, privacy concerns have surfaced. Can Google and Microsoft be trusted with your most private information? Would the insurance and pharmaceutical industries not want access to confidential patient data? On the other hand, is the Personal Health Record a more logical and safer approach to the management of confidential information in comparison to the large Electronic Health Records systems that are being created at the provincial or regional levels?

In May 2009, Dr. Cavoukian and Dr. Peter G. Rossos from the University Health Network in Toronto, published a document entitled: Personal Health Information: A Practical Tool for Physicians Transitioning from Paper Based Records to Electronic Health Record". Download document (.pdf)

Click on the player to listen:

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Participants

• Dr. Ann Cavoukian - Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
• Dr. Jay Mercer - Family Physician and Senior Physician Advisor, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Ontario
• Sam Marafioti - Chief Information Officer at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto
• Dr. David Wiljer - Director of Knowledge Management and Innovation at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto

Guest Questions

• Michael Martineau: What rights do patients have to access their own personal health data (in whatever format)? If this data is stored electronically do they have a right to request an electronic copy or electronic access? Could a private company providing a PHR service request access to a patient's personal health information (in whatever format) if authorized to do so by the patient?
• Nancy Gabor: It has been said that if physicians are forced to share EMR information with patients (via their PHR or otherwise), they are likely to document less information, or keep a separate record for internal use. Please comment on the issue of liability with regards to sharing EMR data with patients, and what you see as an appropriate solution to this issue.
• Eric Gombrich: A patient undergoing chemo for a confirmed lymphoma may want, and their physician may agree to allow them, to see the latest biopsy findings. However, the MD for a patient who is highly volatile with an undefined mass may not want that patient to see the biopsy results. How are we to control this? Is it through the PHR or the EMR?

  Sponsor:

  

  TELUS Health Solutions is a leading provider of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the health industry.

  Developed in conjunction with:

  
  

  Media Partner:

  

Dr. Steve Pelletier - What's the Benefit of an EMR in a Group Practice?

Dr. Steve Pelletier is a family physician with the Clarence Rockland Family Health Team. Two years ago, he was the driving force behind the amalgamation of two clinics and the development of a custom designed medical building with examination rooms configured for an EMR. Steve discusses the development of the clinic and how it was critical to the successful use of Electronic Medical Records.

Listen to the Podcast

To add your thoughts or comments, click on the 'Comments' link

Top 10 Most Popular Podcasts on CanadianEMR

List of Top 10 Podcasts on CanadianEMR

1. Can Telehealth Really Improve Patient Care? (Quarterly)
2. Paper Chart Conversion when Implementing an EMR
3. Lessons Learned - Why has Denmark been Successful with their EMR Program?
4. Privacy and the Electronic Health Record. What is the Right Model?
5. ISO Certification for EMRs - Why all the fuss?
6. Are EMRs Usable? Why do Usability Requirements for EMRs not get more Attention?
7. Bill Pascal - Chief Technology Officer for the CMA discusses EMRs
8. Achieving EMR interoperability. Discussing the BCMA Position Statement
9. Lessons Learned from the New Zealand EMR and Health Information Exchange Strategies
10. Secondary uses of Patient Information. Can Confidentiality be Protected through Deidentification?

Suggest topics for future podcasts - click on the 'Comments' link below

Enterprise vs. Local EMR - What's the Significance?

Enterprise EMRs and Local EMRs are different from one another. Not necessarily with respect to their functionality which may be very similar to an EMR designed to be installed and managed in a small physician practice or even an ASP (remotely hosted) EMR that is designed for smally practice settings.

Some of the differences relate to the complexity of the software and the work required to configure the system for use by thousands of users. Other differences relate to how the data is managed in shared databases. How does one protect the privacy of confidential information when so many individuals have access to the patient record.

Listen the Podcast recorded with Dr. Allen Ausford, a family physician and previously the Chief Medical Information Officer for the Capital Health Region prior to consolidation in Alberta.

To add your thoughts or comments, click on the 'Comments' link below

Submit Questions by Dec 11th for the Roundtable Podcast on Personal Health Records and Patient Portals

A CanadianEMR Roundtable Podcast on Personal Health Records and Patient Portals will be recorded in early December and will be published on the CanadianEMR web site.

The panel of experts from across Canada includes:

• Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario;
• Dr. Jay Mercer, Family Physician and Senior Physician Advisor, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Ontario;
• Sam Marafioti, Chief Information Officer at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto;
• Dr. David Wiljer, PhD, Director of Knowledge Management and Innovation at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Topics for discussion include:

• Should we be taking a patient driven approach towards our national electronic health records strategy?
• Does the PHR modify the risks related to privacy protection in a positive or negative manner?
• Do patient portals work or do they create a greater administrative burden for physicians and hospitals without true benefit to the patient?
• Could greater use of PHRs and Patient Portals shift the balance of accountability in terms of how personal information is collected and used?
• Do GPs and specialists see PHRs and Patient Portals as useful tools or just another burden in an overwhelmed system?

Would you like to submit a question to the roundtable expert panel?

You have until November 11th (date extended) to submit a question for the experts by clicking on the 'Comments' link below.

A CanadianEMR Roundtable Podcast on Personal Health Records and Patient Portals will be recorded in early December and will be published on the CanadianEMR web site.

The panel of experts from across Canada includes:

• Dr. Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario;
• Dr. Jay Mercer, Family Physician and Senior Physician Advisor, Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, Ontario;
• Sam Marafioti, Chief Information Officer at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto;
• Dr. David Wiljer, PhD, Director of Knowledge Management and Innovation at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

Topics for discussion include:

• Should we be taking a patient driven approach towards our national electronic health records strategy?
• Does the PHR modify the risks related to privacy protection in a positive or negative manner?
• Do patient portals work or do they create a greater administrative burden for physicians and hospitals without true benefit to the patient?
• Could greater use of PHRs and Patient Portals shift the balance of accountability in terms of how personal information is collected and used?
• Do GPs and specialists see PHRs and Patient Portals as useful tools or just another burden in an overwhelmed system?

Would you like to submit a question to the roundtable expert panel?

You have until November 11th (date extended) to submit a question for the experts by clicking on the 'Comments' link below.

Podcast: What's all the Fuss about ISO Certification for EMRs?

On October 3rd I published a posting entitled A Bombshell for EMRs in Canada - Classification of EMRs as 'Medical Devices' This elicited a significant response and comments from physicians and vendors alike.

The issue revolves around the impact of impending certification requirements by Health Canada in order for EMR software to meet Class 2 device classification.

On October 26th I interviewed Gary Folker, Managing Director, Business and Solutions Development at xwave and Chair of the ITAC Health working group on ISO certification. ITAC Health represents over 120 vendors in the healthcare IT market in Canada. Read more on the ITAC Health Blog - Patient Management Software Licensing Working Group

Listen to the Podcast:

To add your comments or suggestions, click on the 'Comments' link below.

Podcast: Converting Paper Charts when Implementing an EMR - Lessons Learned

How much of the paper record should be converted when implementing an EMR? What is the best mechanism to populate an EMR with chart summaries, problem lists, patient encounter notes, medications, allergies, etc.? These are some of the questions that physicians and medical office staff always ask when implementing an EMR. Chart conversion is a key issue for medical practices and can be a barrier to a practice moving ahead with an EMR.

Guests: Dr. Andre du Toit, Family physician, Victoria, BC and Rob Hughes, Local Relationship Manager for the PITO program in British Columbia.

Listen to the Podcast:

To add your thoughts or comments, click on the 'Comments' link below.

Podcast: Quarterly Roundtable - Can Telehealth Really Improve Patient Care?

In this Roundtable Forum, a national group of panelists debates the role of Telehealth as a legitimate mechanism to deliver care to Canadians. Can the technology be integrated into the workflow of specialists and GPs? How is Telehealth technology being used in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba? Can inexpensive consumer level webcams and video-conferencing be used to extend Telehealth to the average physician's practice? Can Telehealth reduce the rate of ER visits and hospital admissions for patients with chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive lung disease?

Click on the player to listen:

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Participants

• Dr. Ed Brown is an ER physician and the CEO of the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN);
• Dr. Doug Urness is a practicing Pyschiatrist and the Clinical Director, Telemental Health Services with the Alberta Mental Health Board;
• Liz Loewen is the Director, Telehealth and EHR Service for Manitoba eHealth;
• David McFayden is Director, Channels & Business Development, Canada for Librestream Technologies an innovative Canadian Telehealth vendor.

Guest Questions

• Lindsay Hope-Ross, Clinical Lead, Healthy Minds/Healthy Children, Alberta: Are there any evidence-based strategies for getting professionals comfortable with, and agreeable to, using telehealth?
• Jason Murphy: There appears to be a positive benefit in treating patients with Chronic Diseases (Like Diabetes) via telehealth services such as telehomecare/remote patient monitoring. How will these types of telehealth services become more widely available as an option for healthcare providers to enrol patients in?
• Dr. Fullerton: How can smartphones be used for mobile Health strategies including telemedicine that use existing technology to engage more patients in their own care and encourage more individual responsibility?
• Nancy Gabor,
Managing Consultant,
IBM Global Business Services. Please describe your expectations for store-and-forward technologies in the next 5 - 10 years in Canada or your province. Is there anything specific we should be doing to promote uptake and use of store-and-forward technologies?

Sponsor:

TELUS Health Solutions is a leading provider of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for the health industry.

Developed in conjunction with:

Media Partner:

Roundtable Podcast on Telehealth - Submit Questions by August 26th for the Expert Panel

A CanadianEMR Roundtable Podcast on Telehealth will be recorded on Thursday August 27, 2009 and will be published on the CanadianEMR web site on September 1, 2009.
The panel of experts from across Canada includes:

• Dr. Ed Brown, CEO of the Ontario Telemedicine Network
• Dr. Doug Urness, a psychiatrist and clinical director of the telemental health services with the Alberta mental health board
• Liz Loewen Director, Telehealth and EHR Service for Manitoba eHealth
• David McFayden, director of business development for Librestream Technologies

Topics for discussion include:

• Are we as a healthcare system delivering equal access to healthcare services, irrespective of patient location?
• What do you see as the optimum role for Telehealth Technologies in healthcare delivery?
• What is the current state of Telehealth technology and how does it fit into the other provincial agendas being pursued (For example EMR programs to automate physician practices, provincial electronic health record projects and other projects being supported by organizations such as Canada Health Infoway)?
• How do we tie Telehealth back to the delivery of care by GPs and Specialists?

Would you like to submit a question to the roundtable expert panel?

You have until August 26th to add a question for the experts by clicking on the 'Comments' link below.