Physician IT

CMA launches Asklepios, online networking for doctors

OTTAWA – The Canadian Medical Association has created an online, social networking community called Asklepios. According to the CMA, the system will make it easier for physicians from coast-to-coast to connect, share best practices, and learn from each other.

Designed and developed by the CMA exclusively for Canadian doctors, Asklepios functions as a secure physician community facilitating contact between experts and peers alike, irrespective of geographic location or practice specialty.

“Asklepios is an online doctors’ community,” said Dr. Brian Day, President of the CMA. “It helps connect physicians with their colleagues across the country, facilitates the sharing of best practices, and fosters a deeper sense of professional affiliation.”

Asklepios is a bilingual web-based social networking platform. According to the CMA, it is easy to use with a simple and intuitive interface that currently offers physicians a personalized profile page and access to groups and discussions, live chat and a blog. Other applications will be rolled-out on an ongoing basis, based on feedback from physicians using the product.

Asklepios is only open to Canadian physicians, residents and medical students and is securely hosted in Canada where data is protected. Unlike traditional social networking sites, the CMA will validate each new member to ensure the community is confident that the people participating are who they say they are.
 
Physicians can trust the security of information posted to the network and be confident that the people they’re communicating with are Canadian physicians, validated by the CMA. Asklepios is accessible from the CMA’s website at cma.ca/asklepios.

“Asklepios will be an invaluable tool for my practice, providing me access to the larger physician community, including a variety of specialists from across the country who are able to share the latest cutting-edge information,” said Lee Donohue, a physician from Ottawa and one of 135 physicians across Canada involved in the pilot testing of the network. “By drawing on the expertise of the wider community, Asklepios will help me improve the quality of care I am able to offer patients, particularly those living with chronic illnesses.”

Named after the Greek god of medicine and healing, Asklepios is the latest innovative web-based solution designed by the CMA to improve physicians’ practices, following the release of the mydoctor.ca Health Portal in April.

About CMA
The Canadian Medical Association is a national, voluntary association that represents over 67,000 physicians across the country. The CMA advocates on behalf of its members and their patients for access to high quality healthcare. It also provides leadership and guidance to physicians.

About Practice Solutions
Practice Solutions, is the leading provider of end-to-end technology and practice management solutions for Canadian physicians, which includes its popular PS Suite software bundle that manages billing, scheduling and electronic medical records for a physician’s practice. We are also experts in consulting services, educational seminars, billing services, lease financing, web portals for physicians, such as cma.ca and the mydoctor.ca health portal, and the publisher of physician and patient-oriented magazines. Practice Solutions is headquartered in Ottawa and employs more than 160 professionals across the country.