Clinicians who use digital health to connect with their patients and peers, as well as those implementing digital health solutions into their practices, are being encouraged to take part in the e-Connect Impact Challenge. Funded by Canada Health Infoway (Infoway), the Challenge has up to $1 million available to reward team achievements.
“If patients are attending appointments virtually, or requesting prescription refills and renewals electronically, we want to hear from you,” says Richard Alvarez, President and CEO, Canada Health Infoway. “If you’re using digital health to request patient services from another clinician or exchanging clinical reports with peers electronically, we encourage you to join the Challenge.”
According to a recent Harris/Decima survey commissioned by Infoway, 96 per cent of Canadians think it’s important that the health care system make use of digital health tools and capabilities, and 89 per cent feel it is important that they personally have full advantage of digital health tools and capabilities.
These findings support the most recent Challenge in the Infoway ImagineNation Challenges series. Currently underway, the e-Connect Impact Challenge rewards teams of health providers that are using, or increasing the adoption of, digital health solutions to improve patient care and experiences.
“The vast majority of Canadians think it’s important that the health care system make use of digital health tools,” adds Alvarez. “The e-Connect Impact Challenge encourages clinicians to share how they are using these tools to help accelerate their use among their patients and peers.”
The e-Connect Impact Challenge will recognize and reward teams of health providers that are using and increasing the adoption of digital health solutions to improve patient care and experience in four areas:
• e-Visits: e-Visits offer patients access to a private, secure and digital, two-way interaction with their health care provider from their home.
• e-Requests for Prescription Renewals or Refills: Electronic requests by patients for the renewal or refilling of their prescription medication, sent to a regulated health care provider.
• e-Requests for Services: Electronic requisitions from one regulated health care provider to another for the purpose of requesting health care services on behalf of a patient.
• e-Reports of Services: Reports containing patient health information generated, transmitted, and received electronically, sent from one health care provider to another for the purposes of aiding in the care of a patient.
The e-Connect Challenge is part of the Infoway ImagineNation Challenges initiative launched in 2011 with a vision to inspire, provoke, and promote innovation in health and health care in Canada.
To date, thousands of Canadians, including consumers, clinicians, and health and business leaders have become involved in one of the five Challenges that Infoway has launched over the past three years.
The Challenges have been a catalyst for innovation and have provided an opportunity to showcase these innovations and the teams behind them so that others can learn from their experiences. “I look forward to the innovative submissions that will come in as part of the e-Connect Challenge, which is open until March 2015,” Alvarez adds.
