TELUS, a Canadian telecommunications company, has signed an agreement with the Microsoft Corp. to host and operate the HealthVault platform to provide e-health services in Canada.
The service will be called TELUS Health Space and, according to officials, will be the first of its kind in Canada, providing Canadians with a space to manage and store their personal health information and have access to applications like personal health records and chronic disease management, pediatric care and wellness products.
"What was once thought impossible is now a reality. Canadians have been demanding the ability to manage their health electronically and soon they will be able to do it with a life-long record provided by TELUS," said Francois Cote, president of TELUS Health Solutions. "We are very excited to be working with Microsoft because of their clear commitment to healthcare, their track record in delivering world class software solutions and ability to attract leading application providers to their platforms."
TELUS Health Space will be available to governments, health regions, hospitals, insurers and employers who would like to offer the service to their constituents. TELUS will operate Health Space's infrastructure and securely host all stored health data in Canada.
"This marks the first international deployment of Microsoft HealthVault, which accelerates the move toward an online, patient-centric healthcare system, and which will improve the health and wellness of our country's citizens," said Phil Sorgen, president of Microsoft Canada.
TELUS and Microsoft officials said they will collaborate to solicit developers, application providers and device manufacturers to join the service and provide consumers with tools that will help foster dynamic, trusted and personalized healthcare.
"As both the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and as a patient, I applaud TELUS and Microsoft for taking this important first step in making a platform for consumer-focused e-health applications available to health care providers and other organizations," said Ann Cavoukian, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. "I urge these providers to actively pass on the benefits of these services to individual patients."
"As the healthcare system transitions from paper-based records to electronic health records, it is essential for patients to become an active part of this process. The services envisioned in Canada's first consumer e-health platform will give patients the tools to manage their own healthcare through electronic access to comprehensive, patient-centred health information. Let the new era of accessibility begin."
