Health IT For Consumers Could Transform Health Care

51 million hours wasted in a doctor's waiting room

Some of the great innovators in retailing in the past decade emerged as giants because they recognized that consumers prefer the convenience of electronic delivery. Think of how Apple enables you to buy music instantly via iTunes, Amazon can deliver a book to your e-reader while you’re luxuriating by the pool, or Netflix makes the trip to the local video store a thing of the past.

And yet, only a handful (between four per cent and eight per cent) of health care consumers in Canada experience similar conveniences when it comes to even the simplest needs, such as reviewing routine test results or getting a prescription renewed.

Not surprisingly, new research shows that Canadians are eager to see digital health care evolve. In fact, one of several recent independent studies commissioned by Canada Health Infoway – an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government – found that fully 92 per cent of Canadians support a move from paper to digital in health care...