Released on December 19, 2002
A Saskatchewan project approved for Canada Health Infoway funding will makeit easier for health regions and local health care providers to communicate
with one another and to co-ordinate services when patients are referred to
different programs or locations.
Saskatchewan's project will develop components needed to implement a health
provider registry, an important building block for electronic health record
development in Canada.
"The Romanow Commission recognized the value of electronic health records.
In Saskatchewan, we are developing new information technologies in those
areas with the greatest potential to improve health service delivery,"
Health Minister John Nilson said.
Nilson said there were two main reasons that Saskatchewan was one of the
first provinces selected by Infoway to receive funding: the sound
groundwork the province had already done in electronic health record
development; and the solid relationships that exist among the provincial
government, regional health authorities and western counterparts.
The project partners - Saskatchewan Health, Saskatchewan Health Information
Network, the Regina-Qu'Appelle and Saskatoon health regions - will receive
up to $450,000 for the first phase of this project. The Provider Registry
System is a software application recently developed to serve as a
central "yellow pages" directory in each province, containing basic
information about health care providers. Currently this information is
maintained in separate lists by hospitals, laboratories and various
programs offered by health regions.
"Linda Lizotte-MacPherson, president and chief executive officer of Infoway
affirmed that they want to have the critical building blocks in place
within 12 to 18 months. "This initiative will help accelerate the
development and uptake of electronic health records systems in Canada by
building upon Saskatchewan's foundations and in continuing to work with the
western provinces through the Western Health Information Collaborative,"
Lizotte-MacPherson said.
Canada Health Infoway is an independent, non-profit organization
established by the provincial, territorial and federal governments in 2000
to accelerate and co-ordinate electronic health record initiatives in
Canada.
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For more information, contact:
Myrna Stark Leader
Health
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-4083