Well, Happy New Year everyone, and I wish you the best of health for the coming year.Speaking of health leads me nicely into the topic for this session -- remember last time, I promised a discussion as to how I got into this whole Electronic Medical Record (EMR)/Electronic Health Record (EHR) thingy? Well, here goes...
About a couple of years ago, I was working out in my employer's unsupervised gym and someone came through the door just as I had lifted a dumbbell over my head.
Of course, curiosity got the better of me and straining to see who it was, I damaged the nerves in my neck.
Now in the interest of brevity, let's fast-forward to the point where my doctor requested an MRI -- trouble is, I found out I was claustrophobic and unable to complete the procedure.
Driving home from the hospital at 3 a.m. despondent and embarrassed, I pondered over what other people who were in a similar situation to myself (or even those who were too big to fit into the machine) did to get an MRI procedure done -- there had to be another way!
Being in the Information Technology (IT) industry, I jumped on the Internet and began my search, learning about the various types of MRIs (open-MRI/closed-MRI), and eventually underwent an open-MRI procedure in upstate New York.
During my research, I came across the term "e-Health" on the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) web page -- I assumed that anything prefixed with an "e" had to be IT-related so I dug deeper only to realize there's a huge global industry pertaining to e-Health and that Ontario, along with every other Province in Canada, were busy implementing it.
I felt drawn to this business because of my experience in the IT industry and the possibility of having some impact on the health of my fellow-man -- of course the bills also have to be paid, but nothing would give me more satisfaction than Ontario residents being able to access their health records at home/abroad and knowing I had a hand (no matter how small) in making it all come about.
I also promised to give my understanding of what an EMR/EHR is, so here goes:
An EMR is basically a computerized record of what transpires between you and your Health Provider during a visit; for example, instead of your doctor making paper notes or writing paper prescriptions, the information is keyed into a computer that's located in the examining room. Prescriptions and lab requests/results are also handled electronically.
Typical data that may be found in an individual's EMR would include (but certainly not limited to): name, address, physical attributes, medical history, allergies, required periodic procedures (such as flu shots) etc.
This type of data would normally be kept in your Health Provider's office.
An EHR on the other hand tends to be a subset of the EMR, i.e. it would typically include information at an aggregate level, but still capable of providing enough information for other health providers such as emergency personnel if necessary.
This type of data would normally be kept at a Provincial Government establishment, or the facilities to link Health Providers would be provided by the Province.
A good distinction between the above entities is akin to the difference between Municipal and Provincial/Federal Governments; Municipalities are mainly responsible for the local level of government interaction with the individual, i.e. policing, property taxes, building codes etc.; Provincial/Federal Governments on the other are mainly responsible for those areas that affect the Province/country as a whole such as trade, border security etc.; however, they also have access to the individual if required.
Well, that's it for now -- next time we'll delve into how/when it'll all come about and what's happening abroad (especially in the U.S.).
I look forward to your comments and in the meantime, watch how you go.
Ernest A. James
Regal Informatics Inc.
About a couple of years ago, I was working out in my employer's unsupervised gym and someone came through the door just as I had lifted a dumbbell over my head.
Of course, curiosity got the better of me and straining to see who it was, I damaged the nerves in my neck.
Now in the interest of brevity, let's fast-forward to the point where my doctor requested an MRI -- trouble is, I found out I was claustrophobic and unable to complete the procedure.
Driving home from the hospital at 3 a.m. despondent and embarrassed, I pondered over what other people who were in a similar situation to myself (or even those who were too big to fit into the machine) did to get an MRI procedure done -- there had to be another way!
Being in the Information Technology (IT) industry, I jumped on the Internet and began my search, learning about the various types of MRIs (open-MRI/closed-MRI), and eventually underwent an open-MRI procedure in upstate New York.
During my research, I came across the term "e-Health" on the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) web page -- I assumed that anything prefixed with an "e" had to be IT-related so I dug deeper only to realize there's a huge global industry pertaining to e-Health and that Ontario, along with every other Province in Canada, were busy implementing it.
I felt drawn to this business because of my experience in the IT industry and the possibility of having some impact on the health of my fellow-man -- of course the bills also have to be paid, but nothing would give me more satisfaction than Ontario residents being able to access their health records at home/abroad and knowing I had a hand (no matter how small) in making it all come about.
I also promised to give my understanding of what an EMR/EHR is, so here goes:
An EMR is basically a computerized record of what transpires between you and your Health Provider during a visit; for example, instead of your doctor making paper notes or writing paper prescriptions, the information is keyed into a computer that's located in the examining room. Prescriptions and lab requests/results are also handled electronically.
Typical data that may be found in an individual's EMR would include (but certainly not limited to): name, address, physical attributes, medical history, allergies, required periodic procedures (such as flu shots) etc.
This type of data would normally be kept in your Health Provider's office.
An EHR on the other hand tends to be a subset of the EMR, i.e. it would typically include information at an aggregate level, but still capable of providing enough information for other health providers such as emergency personnel if necessary.
This type of data would normally be kept at a Provincial Government establishment, or the facilities to link Health Providers would be provided by the Province.
A good distinction between the above entities is akin to the difference between Municipal and Provincial/Federal Governments; Municipalities are mainly responsible for the local level of government interaction with the individual, i.e. policing, property taxes, building codes etc.; Provincial/Federal Governments on the other are mainly responsible for those areas that affect the Province/country as a whole such as trade, border security etc.; however, they also have access to the individual if required.
Well, that's it for now -- next time we'll delve into how/when it'll all come about and what's happening abroad (especially in the U.S.).
I look forward to your comments and in the meantime, watch how you go.
Ernest A. James
Regal Informatics Inc.
