Sarah Kramer introduced as president and CEO of eHealth Ontario
Outlines eHealth challenges and opportunities in inaugural address at OHA conference
Monday November 17, 2008 -- Jason Thompson
Although the challenge of implementing an eHealth agenda in Ontario is daunting, Sarah Kramer, the newly appointed president and CEO of eHealth Ontario, says the challenge is not as great as the cost and implications of not moving forward with a modern eHealth system.

“It is going to be difficult work. It is going to test the status quo and require significant changes to the way healthcare operates in this province,” Kramer said in her inaugural address at the Ontario Hospital Association’s annual HealthAchieve conference Nov. 4.

“The transformation and modernization of our health system cannot be achieved by any one organization, or any single team. It will take all of us — working together, pulling in the same direction.”

According to eHealth Ontario, an agency established last month to improve patient care in Ontario through information and technology, Kramer is a veteran healthcare innovator with a record of results. She has served as vice-president and CIO of Cancer Care Ontario and as the lead for the province’s Wait Time Information Management Strategy.

"Sarah Kramer is a practical, results-orientated health care leader with a public track record of achievements in multiple jurisdictions," said Dr. Alan Hudson, chair of eHealth Ontario in a statement.

"Her leadership has advanced evidence-based decision making and patient safety and I am confident she will continue that success with eHealth Ontario."

Key priorities identified by eHealth Ontario include:

• Creating a diabetes registry that will ensure people with diabetes are receiving the best possible care

• Establishing an electronic prescribing system to eliminate hand-written prescriptions and reduce medication errors

• Developing an eHealth portal allowing healthcare providers and patients to easily and securely access the health information they need to deliver and receive better care

• Overseeing the development of a province-wide electronic health record by 2015. The system would be designed to improve healthcare delivery, increase patient safety, reduce emergency room wait times and ultimately create a more effective healthcare system

“What’s exciting about the technology is that it can make such an important difference in people’s lives,” Kramer says, adding she recently spoke with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty about the transformative impact eHealth will have on the healthcare system from the patient’s perspective.

For instance, patients will be better equipped to manage their own care with the tools and ability to make healthcare choices that best suit their individual circumstances. Patient safety will also be improved by removing processes where manual errors often occur.

“It will bring healthcare into the post-industrial age where both patients and providers are able to navigate health services more easily and efficiently,” Kramer says. “The strategy is simple to articulate, but as we all know, will be far more difficult to achieve but it is a goal well worth the effort.”

In the coming weeks, Kramer says she will be meeting with people across the province to gather ideas and suggestions to develop a detailed action plan that is “ambitious yet achievable.

“I want to learn from your experiences and leverage your achievements in other parts of the province,” Kramer says. “We will need all the help we can get.”

Click here for more information on eHealth Ontario or to contact Kramer with any ideas or suggestions.

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