IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Drug information systems, which are hooked up now mainly in the western provinces and Prince Edward Island and to a lesser extent elsewhere, allow pharmacists and health-care providers to electronically access records of a patient's prescription medications.

And they provide a full and accurate medication history so that potential drug interactions or allergies can be caught before they happen.

E-health is the pairing of health-care initiatives with information and communications technology. Many aspects of health care and the health-care system have benefited from the integration of information and communications technology. We see it in small and large initiatives and in public and home-based health care.

The route to egovernment success is to get inside the head of the citizen or business using the service, according to the former chief information officer of the successful Canadian government programme.

The Program for eHealth Innovation was founded in 2000 by the University Health Network (UHN) and the University of Toronto. The idea was to bring together some of the best innovators, technology and research facilities to create an environment where, according to the mission statement, they could "achieve the highest possible levels of health, and help health systems make the most efficient use of available resources."

"As eHealth Ontario takes on more of its own leadership, they will be taking more of that work on inhouse," Caplan said.

"What I've said to the board... is we must deliver value for taxpayers. It's my expectation that money will be spent wisely and well and that we'll be able to demonstrate results for what it is we're investing in."

Drug-information systems, which are part of electronic health records, allow pharmacists and health-care providers to electronically and securely access records of a patient’s prescription medications. The system, which Canada Health Infoway is under mandate to standardize across the country, also provides a full and precise medication history helping to prevent potential or harmful interactions that might occur.

Most other industries would soon automate in similar ways and later make their services available online, meaning Canadians today can use their home computer -- or even their cellphone -- to do everything from book a vacation to download a song to find a date.

As the Internet has enabled consumers to manage important aspects of their personal lives from the relative comfort of their home, it is no surprise that Canadians are becoming increasingly intrigued by the prospect of being able to view and manage their health information using emerging personal health records (PHR) technologies.

A project conducted by the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital is developing hand-held technology to enhance the safety of at-risk patients. The new technology will augment nurses’ capacity to monitor patient’s vital signs and detect clinical deterioration. The application of an Early Warning Scores algorithm in the software will alert the Critical Care Response Team (CCRT) when patients deteriorate. The CCRT typically consists of an ICU nurse, respiratory therapist (RT) and physician. The team responds around the clock to staff requests to stabilize patients who are deteriorating or at risk of deteriorating.

Canada Health Infoway Inc. had said for years that half the population would have an electronic health record by the end of 2010, and every Canadian would have one by 2016.

But Infoway acknowledged in an audit report from Auditor General Sheila Fraser on Tuesday that the 50 per cent goal won't be reached until sometime in the first half of next year.

The problem is so serious that the RCMP are even warning that the public faces an increased risk of "injury or death" because of outdated information technology that police rely on for their radio systems.

Diane Ablonczy, the secretary of state for small business and tourism, made the announcement Friday morning in Yellowknife.

Ablonczy said broadband internet service is a necessity, not a frill, for the North's remote communities.

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) released the 2005 annual report for the Government On-Line (GOL) initiative late last week. It showed Web-based interactions with the government quadrupled over the last three years. GOL was launched six years ago to provide online access to the 130 most commonly used federal services.

If you want to know the best time to get a passport at the federal government building near our office in Toronto, you can consult a handy chart that sits outside the main doors. It uses colour-coded bars next to various times of the day to show when volumes typically reach their peak. Not surprisingly, things are easier in the morning, but it gets heavier by noon and is still sometimes crowded before the end of the day. I can offer an even better hint, which I would have known even if I'd never stepped into that office: there's no lineup on the Internet.

A news release said the contract will go to OmniGlobe Networks as part of a project that aims to provide every person in the province with access to an Internet connection.

"We are pleased that the unserved areas of rural HRM are now included in the Broadband for Rural Nova Scotia initiative," Economic Development Minister Angus MacIsaac said in a news release.

Soon after the government announced the funding in the 2009 federal budget, officials wanted more information from Canada Health Infoway about where the money would be spent. Infoway complied and agreed to an audit that came back with no problems.

Then last September, finance officials emailed Health Canada to say the Prime Minister's Office had decided the money would be held back until 2010.

Electronic service delivery, for years the most important issue for the federal public sector, is not the priority it once was, according to a recent joint IDC/Technology In Government study of public sector IT spending in 2005, which also indicates subtle shifts in the way government sees the role of IT.

Digital economy is the term it uses to describe the network of suppliers and users of digital technologies that enable everyday life.

These technologies enable businesses to be innovative and productive; help governments to provide services; and allow citizens to interact and to transmit and share information and knowledge.