Manitoba to develop
information network
The Manitoba government has signed a 5-year contract with SmartHealth Inc. for the development of a health-information network that will link authorized professionals across the province and provide fast access to patient information such as prescriptions, treatment and immunization history, and laboratory and x-ray results. The government believes the $100-million cost of the computer system will be recovered quickly through increased efficiency, reduced health care fraud and the creation of new preventive-care programs.
Initial work will focus on extending the existing drug-information network to northern nursing stations, hospital pharmacies and doctors' offices, as well as the design of a laboratory network. Manitoba-based SmartHealth, which specializes in health care information technology, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada.
| CMAJ June 1, 1996 (vol 154, no 11)