The
infraNET Project and
Waterloo Institute for Health Informatics Research
University of Waterloo
present ...
"Why not eHealthcare Now?
The Resistance to Change in Our Healthcare System"
by
Honourable Michael J. L. Kirby
Former Senator
Chairman, Mental Health Commission
Wednesday, September
26, 2007
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Davis Centre, Room 1302
University of Waterloo
Seminar Sponsors:
Center for International Governance Innovation
Faculty of Science, University of Waterloo
Seminar Series Sponsors
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
McKesson Information Solutions - Smart Systems for Health Agency
Healthcare Information Management and Communications Canada
Abstract
Health care is the most information intensive industry in Canada.
Each year there are more than one billion encounters between patients
and the health care system. Yet virtually all of the information
generated by these encounters is recorded on paper rather than electronically.
Why is it that service providers, who are so ready to embrace the
benefits of new drugs, new tests and new technology, are so reluctant
to embrace the benefits of a modern electronic data management system?
Why is it that governments, which have been so willing to fund new
advances in medical technology, are so reluctant to fund information
systems technology in health care?
Why is it that patients are so concerned about the privacy of
their personal data that they resist the introduction of modern
information systems, even when it can be shown that privacy can be
maintained in such systems?
Understanding the financial, professional and particularly the
psychological reasons for this resistance to change is essential if
e-health is finally to come of age in Canada.
About the Speaker
Prior to entering government, Michael was a professor in the
Schools of Business Administration and Public Administration at
Dalhousie University. He was also a faculty member at the Business
Schools of the University of Chicago and the University of Kent
(England). His involvement in the private sector has included Senior
VP positions at Canadian National and Goldfarb Consultants, an international
market research firm headquartered in Toronto.
He was a member of the Senate from January 13, 1984 until October
31, 2006. During this time , he was the Chairman of the Standing
Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology which
studied the hospital and doctor system and produced the 2002 report,
Recommendations for Reform. Under his leadership, the Committee
produced 11 healthcare reports, including the first-ever national
report on mental health, mental illness and addiction, Out of the
Shadows at Last.
Currently, Michael Kirby is the Special Ministerial Advisor on
Mental Health and is the Chair of the Federal Government s Mental
Health Commission. He is also serving on the Board of Directors of
several public companies. For ten years, Michael Kirby was a weekly
panelist on the Canada A.M. "Political Pundits Panel."
Michael has a B.Sc. and an M.A. in Mathematics (Dalhousie
University), and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics (Northwestern
University). In 1997, he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws
at Dalhousie University.
For more information
Shirley Fenton
Managing Director, WIHIR
University of Waterloo
(519) 888-4074
Seminar Hosts
This seminar is hosted by the Waterloo Institute for Health
Informatics Research (WIHIR) and The infraNET Project, University of Waterloo.
The infraNET Project, initiated by the University of Waterloo in
1996, is a partnership to advance Web and Internet technologies. Its founding
partners were: LivePage (now part of Oracle), MKS, Open Text, RIM,
Sybase (Waterloo) and Waterloo Maple.
We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Institute for
Computer Research, University of Waterloo.
