Healthcare IT in Canada – Bimonthly Spotlight Series

As part of its expanded coverage of the Canadian healthcare market, Branham also prepares detailed bi-monthly reports on topics of interest along the continuum of care.  These reports provide a comprehensive review of the healthcare issues that either have an important bearing on the current transition to a more integrated healthcare system or form an important part of Canada’s healthcare system.  The discussions in these reports go well beyond the Digital Health NOW Monthly reports.  

The following provides only a snapshot of some the content you will see in these bi-monthly reports:

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - The Success of Telehealth in Canada (December 2011) - Telehealth supports the evolution of health care in Canada and is in line with the need to leverage technology to reduce the burden on the health care system, make up for shortage of skilled manpower, provide access to personalized treatment plans, and make medical expertise available to all Canadians, irrespective of where they are located. The benefits of telehealth are powerful and have been proven over the past few years. Read this report to learn more.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Transitioning to an Integrated Continuum of Care (October 2011) - This Report provides a comprehensive discussion on the Continuum of Care model of healthcare delivery in Canada. It provides a broad strategic overview of where Canadian healthcare is today and where it should be headed in order to effectively deal with the several challenges it faces. Further, the report details how technology can be a major driver in the achievement of a fully integrated Continuum of Care. The report is an update to the "living" document Branham created in 2010.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - The Evolving Field of Digital Pathology (October 2011) - Digital pathology is a disruptive technology; however, the consensus is that digital pathology is clearly our future. This iteration of Branham's Digital Health NOW Spotlight report takes a look at the emerging Digital Pathology market segment in health care. The report provides an overview and a general understanding of Digital Pathology rather than a detailed discussion of underlying technologies and vendors.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - International Healthcare ICT Markets (August 2011) - Digital Health initiatives in several OECD countries continued to progress towards their respective objectives in spite of the economic slowdown over the past year. The success or failure of these Digital Health initiatives in other countries provides valuable lessons that can be applied to initiatives aimed at achieving a pan-Canadian EHR system. This Digital Health NOW Spotlight report covers areas such as healthcare expenditure trends in OECD countries, the role of information and communications (ICT) technology in the healthcare sector in these countries, select country briefs, and key vendor happenings in select EU countries.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Cool Technologies and Trends (July 2011) - As the challenges that face Canadian healthcare intensify, the focus on leveraging technology for achieving greater efficiencies in the healthcare sector has increased manifold. As a result, innovation in healthcare technologies continues to remain cutting edge with several new technologies being introduced into the market on a regular basis. Much of this innovation is being driven by the contradictory need to control spiraling healthcare costs while improving healthcare delivery to an increasingly aging population. Branham defines a "cool technology" as one that is innovative, is recent in its application and expected to find increased application in coming years, and is likely to significantly (and positively) impact the delivery of healthcare.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Mobile & Wireless Technologies in Healthcare (May 2011) - Though healthcare organizations in Canada have been slow to embrace wireless and mobile technologies, an increasing number of organizations are finding that they can save money and improve care with these technologies, and as they eliminate the need for wired connections, they also increase mobility of the patients and healthcare professionals, ultimately improving treatment outcomes. Read this report to learn more about the significant opportunities and challenges associated with the adoption of wireless and mobile computing technologies in Canada's healthcare sector.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Application of Cloud Technologies in Healthcare (March 2011) - Cloud computing promises enormous benefits for the healthcare world. These include improved patient care, better health for the overall populations that healthcare providers serve, and new delivery models that will make healthcare more efficient and effective; and cloud computing can achieve these in a cost-effective way.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - eHealth Markets Beyond Canada (September 2010) - eHealth initiatives in several OECD countries continued to progress towards their respective objectives in spite of the economic slowdown over the past year. The success or failure of these eHealth initiatives in other countries provides valuable lessons that can be applied to initiatives aimed at achieving a pan-Canadian EHR system. This Digital Health Spotlight report covers areas such as healthcare expenditure trends in OECD countries, the role of information and communications (ICT) technology in the healthcare sector in these countries, select country briefs, and key vendor happenings.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Key Issues Facing the Canadian Healthcare Sector (June 2010) - Regarded as one of the best healthcare systems in the world not very long ago, a number of issues have begun to plague the Canadian healthcare system over the past decade or so. Funding, health human resources, the geography of the country, and the need for a shift from a reactive to proactive model of healthcare delivery have been some of the major issues seen in Canadian healthcare over the past few years. This iteration of Branham Group Inc.'s Digital Health NOW Spotlight report takes a look at these issues and how we might best address them.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - Cool Technologies & Trends in Healthcare ICT (May 2010) - As the Canadian healthcare system transitions from a reactive model with information silos to an interconnected continuum of care, some of the key technologies that will find increased acceptance in the healthcare community include robotics, wireless communications, biosensors, system on chip (SOC), smartphones, service platform technologies, and advanced diagnostic imaging. Some trends that will drive the emergence of these innovative technologies include self-care and other alternative methods of care delivery, emergency preparedness and the increased need for privacy and security of patient information. This iteration of Branham's Digital Health NOW Bi-Monthly report brings you insights into the latest technologies in healthcare.

• Digital Health NOW Spotlight - State of Digital Health Interoperability in Canada (March 2010) - As Canada moves forward with the vision to create an interoperable electronic health record for all Canadians, providing the right information for the right care at the right time, the question of interoperability will no doubt become more important. As more health care facilities complete their unique clinical health information systems and continue to link into larger jurisdictional, and eventually national, systems, the issue of interoperability amongst vendor application is becoming critical. This bi-monthly report brings you insights into the current state of interoperability in Canadian healthcare, and the challenges in achieving true and wide-ranging interoperability between Digital Health solutions.

For more information, please contact Wayne Gudbranson at 613-745-2282 x113.

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