Canadas Health Information Highway

1
Canadas Health Information Highway

• Access and Privacy in E-government conference,
  February 14, 2002
• Janice Hopkins
• Director, Privacy and Knowledge Development
• Office of Health and the Information Highway
• Health Canada

2
Canadas Health Information Highway What is it?

• Advisory Council on Health Infostructure, 1999
  report Canada Health Infoway Paths to Better
  Health
• links people, technology, information and
  governance

3
Strategic directions

• Empower the public
• Strengthen and integrate health services
• Create strategic information resources
• Improve protection of personal health information

4
What is an electronic health record?

• A Vision, not yet a reality
• Individual-based
• Longitudinal
• Linked and Virtual
• Dynamic
• Access with consent and based on roles

5
(No Transcript)
6
Creating the EHR

• F/P/T cooperation (Advisory Committee on Health
  Infostructure)
• Canadian Health Infostructure Partnerships
  Program (CHIPP)
• Canada Health Infoway Inc
• Actions in each jurisdiction

7
Creating the EHR

• Stage 1
• Client Data - such as names, addresses, contact
  numbers, date of birth, healthcare numbers,
  emergency contacts, languages, consent status
• Provider Data - such as names, contact numbers,
  provider number, consent status
• Laboratory Data - such as laboratory orders and
  laboratory results
• Pharmacy Data - such as prescribed and dispensed
  medications.

8
Privacy and the EHR

• Constitutional and legislative protections
• Government policies
• Professional codes of ethics
• Publics views
• Organizational policies
• Privacy impact assessments
• Technology assistance

9
Some of the challenges

• Understanding public views
• Putting privacy into operation and operations
  
• Both where services are delivered, and across the
  system
• The challenges of access and consent
• Finding the proper role for technology in privacy
  policy