IT Research

Canadian Healthcare Technology launches IT survey

Canadian Healthcare Technology magazine has launched its fourth-annual survey of I.T. usage, trends and challenges in hospitals and health regions across the country.

The study will widen the scope of knowledge developed in previous studies, providing a valuable source of strategic information for healthcare planners and policy makers in Canada’s hospitals, health regions and governments.

The research study is under the direction of Richard Irving, PhD (pictured at left), a professor of management science at York University in Toronto. Over 200 hospital and health region CIOs and IT directors have been invited to participate.

The online survey is currently under way – preliminary results are expected by July, and an executive summary will be sent on a complimentary basis to participants. They will be able to use the findings in their own IT planning.

As confidentiality is of the utmost importance, all data will be aggregated and anonymous; as in previous studies, Canadian Healthcare Technology is seeking to identify broad issues and trends.

A comprehensive analysis of the results will be available in September, at a low cost, to interested organizations and individuals. The leading-edge survey will determine:

• the current installed base and investment plans of hospitals and health regions for 30 different clinical and administrative systems;
• the current installed base and investment plans of hospital and health regions for important types of IT infrastructure;
• trends and challenges in IT security;
• political viewpoints – how CIOs and IT directors view public sector programs such as Infoway, and in Ontario, the Smart Systems for Health Agency.
• whether Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) has gained ground in Canada;
• to what extent hospitals are connecting electronically with community care providers.

For 10 years, Canadian Healthcare Technology magazine has been a trusted provider of information to the hospital and healthcare community. It has established a rapport with its readers across Canada, who regard it as a leading source of news and analysis.