Open AccessBlockchain Technology: Investing in a National EMR Strategy
Author(s) -
Josiah Marquis,
Erik Elliott,
Martyn Dahal,
Dor Abelman
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
uwomj/medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-8274
pISSN - 0042-0336
DOI - 10.5206/uwomj.v87i2.1266
Subject(s) - business , equity (law) , government (linguistics) , health care , blockchain , sustainability , stakeholder , developing country , public relations , computer security , economic growth , computer science , economics , ecology , philosophy , linguistics , political science , law , biology
Improving the efficiency and sustainability of Canada’s healthcare system is currently being prioritized by the federal government. In order to achieve this, government and non-government stakeholder collaboration will be required to improve integration, universality, and equity for all populations throughout the country. Although technological innovations pose certain risks, investing in health technologies plays a major role in improving service delivery and cost-saving within healthcare. Canada has historically had a relatively low use of electronic medical records (EMR’s) in comparison to other high-income countries - which appears to be partially due to inefficiencies within the fragmented systems throughout Canada. Improving the current EMR infrastructure has the potential to save our country substantial amounts of money, improve information transfer for patients and practitioners, and enhance the overall quality of medical care Canadian citizens receive. There has been mention of developing a national EMR strategy by various organizations, including the Canadian Medical Association. Blockchain technology appears to have many desired characteristics for developing a comprehensive national EMR strategy to support the needs of our universal healthcare system. This is due to the fact that it is a secure platform to store huge amounts of information and make data transfers between a diverse group of stakeholders. It is believed that blockchain can provide a unique framework upon which a national data system can be built.