Quebec is finally joining other provinces in launching a plan that will enable doctors and pharmacists to share computerized information about a patient's health.
A complete electronic health-information system should be in place by 2011 at a cost of $547-million, more than half of which ($303-million) will be paid for by the federal government over the next four years. Quebec may have to import much of the knowledge it will need from Alberta, where a regional electronic registry and patient records project called NetCARE was set up 18 months ago.
Health and Social Services Minister Philippe Couillard said that some data, such as a patient's diagnosis or information on their mental health would be excluded from Quebec's system.
