Physician IT

OntarioMD adopts CanadianEMR ratings

TORONTO – As of January 30, 2009, OntarioMD has gone live with CanadianEMR ratings data within their EMRAdvisor.ca website. The CanadianEMR ratings will help Ontario physicians make better informed purchasing decisions about Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software for their practices.

Canada is transitioning into the next phase of adoption of healthcare technology. As most hospitals have now implemented large-scale systems for in-patient care, the challenge is now to computerize the physician practice and to connect primary care physicians and specialists to other healthcare providers.

Currently, there are a large number of EMR vendors across Canada, some of which have undergone conformance testing/validation in various provinces, and others that provide solutions separate from this process.

According to Dr. Alan Brookstone, CEO of CanadianEMR, “The purpose of CanadianEMR is to reduce the confusion in the marketplace and to help physicians and practice managers make informed decisions. CanadianEMR is pleased to be working in collaboration with OntarioMD as part of our commitment to quality, transparency and the continuing enhancement of our rating information.”

Ontario is Canada’s largest province and EMR marketplace and is poised for significant adoption of EMR led by OntarioMD. Brian Forster, CEO of OntarioMD, said that “the CanadianEMR ratings will provide important feedback from physicians using the EMRs in their practice, which will help their colleagues who are making the transition from paper to electronic medical records. An independent rating like this has been requested by many of the physicians we have been working with. The ratings will complement the extensive information already available on www.EMRAdvisor.ca and CanadianEMR.”.

About OntarioMD
OntarioMD is a subsidiary of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). OntarioMD manages Ontario’s Physician IT Program, which provides funding and transition support to eligible primary care physicians who decide to adopt EMRs. It also develops the EMR specification and conducts conformance testing for funding eligble EMRs, and operates EMRAdvisor.ca and the Physician Portal - www.OntarioMD.ca, which provides clinical information and tools to Ontario physicians.

About CanadianEMR
CanadianEMR (www.canadianemr.ca) is privately owned and based in Richmond, British Columbia. CanadianEMR was established in 2003 by Dr. Alan Brookstone, a family physician and EMR advocate in British Columbia. CanadianEMR provides expert advice to Physicians and Practice Managers looking to purchase an EMR and other supportive Information Technology software, hardware and services for their practices.