How does one opt out of these ehealth records altogether?

eHealth Ontario paid a consultant who submitted an invoice for eight hours of work in which she said she consulted herself, then followed up with questions for herself.

Can you believe that?

Google Health [ttps://www.google.com/health] comes to mind when considering a private option.

This isn’t rocket science, all the government needs to do is create a VERY simple database scheme that would hold all relevant health data. An application programming interface (API) should then be made available, which would allow nearly any authorized user (or company) to access the database. Commercial services, like Google Health, could then access the data (with your permission, of course!) and then could provide any or all the health services relating to “economic health records.”

Our obsession in Canada with the idea that government is the only one who we can trust with our data and who are the only ones qualified to provide health services is seriously warped.

It’s my data, let me do with it what I want. Spending millions, if not billions, on poorly executed and designed systems isn’t the answer.

I don’t propose that the data population of the program and related databases be performed by the Private Sector. That is a job for those currently serving the public in that capacity. And Data Entry isn’t a high risk job, so it can be done relatively cheaply.

There are many, many pre-existing programs and database frameworks that the government could have applied for a “copy” of that is both secure and well rounded. CPIC comes to mind pretty rapidly, as well as the existing Border Services networks, so as you so rightly point out Charles, it isn’t really necessary to re-invent the wheel here. But like any other fatcat who has the disposable income of the public purse, they certainly like to have things tailor made, one-of-a-kind. Sort of like a child comparing their toys to that of another a la “My toy is better than your toy” or “My dad could beat up your dad (or database in this case).

It’s time for us to stop trying to out-do one another and look first to the well-being of the province.

I like what the US has started with their data.gov website (just hope they keep it up), and the British have asked Sir Tim Berners-Lee to outdo the US. Not a peep from any Canadian government, of course.