Ontario e-health under par

Ontario conservative leader John Tory says the province is falling behind in the push for patient records to be converted into computer files, reports CTV.

Tory contends Ontario is in the dark ages and is not using millions in federal funding to make the switch to e-health records.

He said during a press conference that there is more information recorded electronically every time a pizza is ordered than when citizens visit a hospital in the province. Tory says digitising the province's health records will be a cornerstone of his campaign. He has committed to spending $500 million to establish the new system.

Aurora Information Technology has expanded to provide an Internet-based healthcare IT solution on its Web site, reports Earth Times.

The site shows Aurora's product offerings from physician marketing, medical logo design, healthcare and medical Web site design, and search engine optimisation.

Hospitals in particular are now using Web and search engine based marketing services to increase patient referrals, says Daniel Gilbert, CEO of Aurora Information Technology.

A year-and-a-half of paper shuffling, research and talks is leading to upgrades at the Franklin Hospital, reports Benton Evening News.

Assistant administrator Frank Caruso said work began with a letter to US senator Richard Durbin. "We installed a new digital CT scanner in May 2005 as the first major step toward digitising the radiology department. Earlier steps in the process included the purchase of a digital ultrasound machine in 2003.

"The next two phases of the project will finalise the implementation of a picture archiving and communications system," Caruso said. "These phases include the needed hardware and software in phase one and the conversion from x-ray film to digital image capture in phase two."