Symposium on E-Health to be held on 28 January 2010

ccraig — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:01:03 +0000

There's been much talk about poor leadership and wasteful spending with respect to eHealth in Ontario, but there has been little discussion about the fundamental issues associated with e-Health. Do you know who owns electronic health records? Is it the hospital? The doctor? The government? The patient? Aside from privacy and ethics, electronic health records concerns governance issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino, Director of the Intellectual Property Law & Technology Program at Osgoode Hall Law School (IP Osgoode) and OHLS ��Scholar in Residence, is working on a project to consider intellectual property, privacy and ethics issues related to electronic health records in association with the LCO.

As part of the consultation in this project, experts and professionals working in the areas of health, privacy and intellectual property law will begin to address these governance questions central to developing a transparent, efficient and ethically functioning eHealth system, at a symposium on Thursday, January 28, 2010, from 9:15 am to 3:30 pm, in downtown Toronto.

By invitation only.

For further information please contact IP Osgoode at 416.650.8449 or iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca

��

E-Health Law and Policy Symposium

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Location: Osler Hoskin Harcourt LLP,
1 First Canadian Place, 100 King Street West, 63rd Floor,
Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1B8.

��Agenda

8:30-9:15�� Breakfast and Registration��

9:15-9:30�� Welcome by Dr. Patricia Hughes

9:30-10:00�� Keynote: Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino (Osgoode Hall Law School)

10:00-10:15�� Break

10:15-12:00�� Panel: Law and Policy

Moderator:

Maureen Murphy (Partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP)

Panelists:

Professor Dan Burk (Faculty of Law, University of California, Irvine)
Michael Power (Lawyer/Consultant, past VP of Privacy and Security at eHealth Ontario)
Dr. Harvey Skinner (Dean, Faculty of Health, 91��ɫ)
Professor Margaret Ann Wilkinson (Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario)

12:00 – 1:00�� Lunch

1:00 – 2:00�� Panel: Health Care Technology

Moderator:

Michael Watts (Partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP)

Panelists:

David Pattenden (Director, Health Care, Microsoft)
Dr. Terrence Sullivan (President and CEO, Cancer Care Ontario)
Karen Waite (Chief Privacy & Security Officer, eHealth Ontario)

2:00 – 2:15�� Break

2:15 – 3:15�� Working Session

Discussion to gather feedback and information from the participants

3:15 – 3:30�� Closing comments by Dr. Patricia Hughes and Professor Giuseppina D’Agostino

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Accessibility and E-Health Initiatives

ccraig — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:03:22 +0000

The costs associated with health care in developed nations are already huge and continue to grow. In Canada, the total is around $4000. That number is higher in the U.S., where the current debate over health care reform has been framed by President Obama in terms of . One major step forward is the increased use of , which can broadly be defined as healthcare practices that are based on information technology applications. By reducing the amount of slower paper-based forms of information sharing, increasing access to current news related to the general health concerns of a state, and making it easier for patients to get medical advice without having to be in the physical presence of a physician or nurse, it is hoped that the system will become quicker, less expensive, and more accessible.

Professor Dutton, Director of the Oxford Internet Institute comments on his blog about a website and telephone helpline set up by the UK National Health Services to serve as a gateway to information related to the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. The has links to various health agencies in different regions, advice about precautions to take under the current state of affairs, and even a questionnaire to aid users in diagnosing themselves. Apparently the site had crashed at one point due to the amount of traffic it received, which may be an indication of the large number of persons who would have otherwise tried to flock to hospitals or individual physicians.

In addition to increased efficiency, this initiative also serves the purpose of preventing the spread of a contagious disease by reducing the types of situations necessary for such a spread: contact with others. ��However, it can be argued that measures such as these are inferior to real one-on-one meetings with trained medical professionals so that patients are not receiving the best care or advice that they ought to. To me it seems that self-assessment should be at the disposal of those who wish to use it. Despite the potential for erroneous conclusions and the costs associated with these, the reality is that there already exists a large number of websites that provide information about medical conditions, including diagnosis opinions and advice for treatment. Having a central source that is presumably more accurate due to being backed by a government would likely reduce the amount of misinformation possibly being followed.

Despite setbacks like the recent in Ontario, e-health initiatives are worth it in the long run. With the costs of medical care being what they are, the shortage of physicians and nurses, and evolving larger-scale health risks such as H1N1 that can cause widespread confusion, both the Canadian government and its citizens could benefit greatly from what these programs have to offer, especially greater access to updated and reliable information. Proper treatment for our healthcare system can lead to better treatment for patients.

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Symposium on E-Health to be held on 28 January 2010

Accessibility and E-Health Initiatives