IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

New site will sync with mobile devices, ease access to city resources

The new city website project wants to put the customer in the middle, according to city manager Murray Totland.

“It’s about making sure it’s successful in a variety of platforms particularly mobile devices,” Totland said. “Whatever we can do to make sure our customer can easily access our website … and hopefully use it beyond just getting information from the city.”

Read more: CA: Saskatchewan: Saskatoon: City website aims to put the customers in the middle

The era of "big data" is dawning, with the convergence of electronic medical records (EMR) systems, mobile health care monitors, genetic sequencing and predictive analytics. And with it, hopes are growing that health researchers are poised to use the vast torrents of precise patient data about disease prevalence, quality of care and treatment outcomes to deliver bold new insights that could transform health delivery.

But according to many experts at a conference on e-health in Ottawa, Ontario May 26–29, technological limitations stemming from mismanagement by government e-health agencies and commercial turf battles are preventing researchers and patients from realizing many of the rewards that the "big data" era could deliver.

Read more: CA: Ontario: Big data's dirty secret

Hospital will need to work closely with eHealth to ensure electronic patient records meet technology standards

The hospital’s plan to go paperless will help it line up it’s technology standards with eHealth Ontario initiatives, but it won’t get any financial help from the provincially-funded agency.

Though eHealth is in the business of helping health care providers communicate and share patient information electronically -- something the hospital recently announced it will spend more than $50 million to do -- it steers clear of hospitals. As the agency helps more physicians, labs and other health-related workers use technology better, it’s up to the hospital to keep up.

Read more: CA: eHealth Ontario not taking the lead to ramp up technology at hospital

The provincial government of Alberta launched its open data portal as part of its efforts to promote government transparency and citizen engagement.

The portal, which was built by the provincial government staff using open source software, serves as a central access point for high quality and machine readable raw data collected from various provincial government agencies.

“The portal is the next step we are taking down the open government road as we continue to build Alberta,” said Manmeet S. Bhullar, Minister of Service Alberta.

Read more: Canadian province Alberta develops open data portal with open source