Creating a New IT Culture in Health Care

The pressures on our health system are real and continue to build, threatening the sustainability of our health-care system. For example, rates of chronic disease continue to increase, and access and quality challenges continue to be a reality in many parts of the country.

The people who work in our health system continue to pursue a number of major thrusts designed to improve health-care delivery - focusing on areas such as patient-centred care, strengthening access to quality care, encouraging collaborative teams, and improving productivity. The common thread among all of these initiatives is that they require information technology to reach their full potential.

Governments around the world have recognized this and are well down the path toward implementing e-health systems to improve the delivery of patient care and make their health systems more sustainable.