There is a new and interesting decision out of Peterborough that raises but doesn’t answer a lot of questions. These questions revolve around the intersection of PHIPA, class action law and tort law. This is not something you see everyday although we may have to wait awhile before the dust (and the law) settles. 

Canada’s Yukon Territory joins other domestic jurisdictions in moving to implement personal health information legislation. The Health Information Privacy and Management Act, introduced in November, is now in second reading. Leaving aside the trend to including EHR governance in personal health information statutes, there are some intriguing aspects to the bill not found in other statutes […]

I had previously written on the subject of electronic health records here, as well as about their governance here. The latter post was about the state of EHR governance in Ontario, especially when one considers legislative developments in Alberta and BC. It seems that the current Liberal government has decided to address the issue with the […]

 I had the the pleasure of serving as the keynote speaker at Dalhousie University’s 2012 Data Privacy Day last Wednesday in Halifax. My topic was eHealth and Privacy: Issues & Implications For Society. I’m informed a webcast will be posted at some point so if you’re interested, I’ll post the URL when I receive it. The […]

“If you build it, he will come” Shoeless Joe Jackson – Field of Dreams (1989) In the healthcare IT space, this famous movie line could easily be changed to “If you build a database, they will find secondary uses for it.”

Imagine building a house without wiring it for electricity. Despite good intentions, millions of dollars, years of effort and, probably matching the historical norm of any visionary undertaking, a scandal or two, Ontario does not yet have an electronic health record (“EHR”). Despite some success with building networks and applications to support an EHR, the […]

Michael Martineau and I are having a difference of opinion over Canada Health Infoway’s proposed PR campaign. Michael, who I know and respect very much, recently posted on his blog, eHealth Musings, about his attendance at the 10th annual eHealth Summit and a presentation by Kirk Ferguson of Canada Health Infoway (“Infoway” or “CHI”). While this […]

This post was co-written by Michael Power and Anita Fineberg. Ontario’s Diabetes Initiative raises more troubling questions than could be addressed in one posting, so here’s Part 2.

A little over a month ago a post, written by Michael Martineau and Michael Power, was published on this blog (as well as eHealth Musings and ITWorld Canada) entitled “Dear McGill University Health Centre … About Your PHR”.  Shortly after it appeared, the authors were contacted by Philippe Panzini, Chief Technology Officer at MEDICAL.MD EHR […]

If a government builds an EHR, can it require your data be put into it? Governments in many jurisdictions have embarked on a concerted effort to build and use electronic health records (EHRs) and to encourage health professionals to use electronic medical records (EMRs). Everyone seems to have assumed that creating an EHR would be […]