title: Integrated care, information management and information technology in Canada: have we made any progress in the past 12 years?
abstract: A dozen years ago, a seminal article was written by Leatt, Pink and Guerriere that boldly stated that Canada did not have integrated healthcare but, rather, a hodgepodge of disconnected parts! The article also stated categorically that Canadian regional health authorities could not provide comprehensive integrated care since they were not responsible for drugs dispensed from retail pharmacies or for medical care provided by physicians. Twelve years later, some progress toward integrated care has been made, though many would argue that it is both inadequate and disappointing - even if Canada's provincial health systems would like to integrate services across an ever-expanding continuum of care to better serve patients.
authors.affiliation: Professor emeritus at the University of Victoria, in Victoria, British Columbia. His research and areas of expertise include national health information management and technology strategies, electronic health records, primary care computing and evaluation of information systems.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Protti
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000639:trends; D063005:Health Information Systems; D019451:Information Management / Q000639:trends; D058996:Quality Improvement