- 9/10/2012
One of the challenges with bringing new medical technologies to market is the long timeline. There are many reasons for this, but the most pervasive is the regulatory environment. A young company can’t just go to market with a medical device in the same way that a tech startup can roll out a gaming app for an iPhone.
- 9/3/2012
In the manufacturing sector, a “lean” approach is now understood to be the de facto way to conduct operations. The approach is inherently business-focussed: it is all about what is of value to a customer, with the assumption being that that customer is a paying one.
- 8/27/2012
There has been a lot of talk of late about how Canada is well-positioned to have a world-class medical technology industry. After all, we have all the requirements: a solid academic and teaching-hospital community, a growing investor class, and governments at both the federal and provincial level that are eager to jump-start the industry.
- 8/21/2012
Two pieces of recent news from Canadian EMR vendor QHR Technologies bring to light some essential requirements of EMR (electronic medical record) vendors: they will ideally have exposure to the American as well as the Canadian market, and they will be working diligently to enable greater medical device integration.
- 8/13/2012
Recently, Ipsos Reid came out with a poll that found 18% of Canadians have no supplementary health coverage. The poll, done on behalf of the Canadian Medical Association, was a headline-grabber.
- 8/7/2012
Xerox, via its in-house consulting company Buck Consultants, recently released its 2012 Canadian Health Care Trend Survey, which claimed there was a “significant slowing” in Canadian health benefit plan cost increases. Specifically, it found that the anticipated inflation costs fell from 14.4% in 2011 to 11.7% in 2012.
- 7/30/2012
When it comes to healthcare delivery in Canada, there can be a fair amount of bickering as to how to do it right. This is one reason why the overwhelmingly positive response to the first report from the Council of the Federation Health Care Innovation Working Group (HCIWG), titled “From Innovation to Action,” is such a breath of fresh air.
- 7/23/2012
There has been a lot of talk of late about how healthcare will be the next frontier for “big data.” A-list technology vendors such as Oracle, IBM, and Dell are well aware of the opportunity in this market, and of how an industry-specific skill set will help them capture more business. They know this isn’t only about big boxes and big pipes—it’s about knowing regulatory requirements that are specific to healthcare. They also know healthcare organizations are worri
- 7/16/2012
In August 2010 Montreal-based IT giant CGI Group Inc. was chosen by eHealth Ontario to develop a web-enabled diabetes registry. The idea was to begin with a common chronic disease – Ontario has 1.1 million people with diabetes – and then expand the system to include other chronic illnesses. But the six-year, $46.2-million contract is shrouded in secrecy.
- 7/9/2012
Historically, Canada has taken something akin to a “command and control” approach to healthcare. The provinces squabble with the federal government, sometimes with each other, and on occasion with doctors and nurses, before setting the dials on a system that they, and only they, are responsible for.
- 7/2/2012
I have written a lot on the importance of healthcare data—the need to gather it and, just as important, the need to use it intelligently. Which is why it is good news that the federal government has decided to renew funding for the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
- 6/25/2012
This week saw Canadian healthcare organizations launching new electronic tools to promote the safe and appropriate use of medication. The initiative is part of the Knowledge is the Best Medicine program, which was created by Canada's Research Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) in 1994.
