Canadians afflicted with chronic diseases may have an easier time managing their medical information and how it’s disseminated through the healthcare system in the future.

1. New medical technology to give patients more control
over medical info
Canadians afflicted with chronic diseases may have an easier time managing
their medical information and how it‟s disseminated through the healthcare
system in the future.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are currently living with various chronic
diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory
illnesses, muskoskeletal conditions and mental disorders. Those afflicted must
see a variety of healthcare practitioners who are often spread out across
healthcare districts or hospital networks.
As a result, patients‟ medical records are widely disseminated through the
healthcare system, potentially compromising their privacy, but also giving
them little access to their own medical information. Yet a new initiative
emerging out of Alberta could soon change that.

2. Researchers at the University of Alberta have launched a $1.3-million study –
funded by Telus and dubbed the Living Laboratory Community – to develop
and commercialize innovative healthcare technologies, including the
implementation, monitoring and analysis of a new electronic medical-record
platform.
The new platform, called Health Space, will allow patients to securely upload
their own health history and records, and choose who gets to to be privy to
their personal information.
“Think of it as an online bank account,” said Dr. Martin Ferguson-Pell, Dean of
the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta and Chair
of the Health Sciences Council. “This portal will give patients suffering from
chronic diseases direct access to their personal health record as well as the
opportunity to better manage their own information.”
Health Space runs on secure data servers and traces all electronic transactions.
Patients‟ records are their personal property and can only be shared with their
consent.

3. “Fraud is a reality in all online data platforms, whether it is banking or any
other service,” said Paul Lepage, senior vice-president at Telus Health
Solutions. “The technology might not be the solution for everyone, but in the
majority of cases, [Health Space] will allow patients to have better control of
their information.”
Telus is also planning to implement sensor technology to several medical
devices, such as blood glucose meters, to allow for an automatic update of a
patient‟s medical information to Health Space.
“Currently, there is no integrated way of sharing real time data,” said Mr.
Ferguson-Pell. “These devices will pair with Health Space and allow for real-
time monitoring by health care professionals.”
In addition, the technology is expected to significantly reduce the daily routine
follow-up appointments required because information will be shared between
the patient and healthcare professional remotely.

4. “The data Health Space collects will save resources within the system since we
will be able to track patterns in a patient‟s medical history and see any
fluctuations or potential risk factors well before they become an emergency,”
said Mr. Ferguson-Pell.
Officials at the University of Alberta hope to garner additional funding for the
initiative so that it can have national scope in the future.
Data privacy and security is a key concern of any technology related
advancement within the field of healthcare. Acroseas feels that „Health Space‟
is a welcoming innovation where the owners of maintaining „security‟ is given
to the individual record holders.