Outdated data infrastructure is stifling Canadian innovation in health

There is a growing sector of innovators and entrepreneurs looking to revolutionize healthcare delivery. They need access to clinical data to develop new technologies.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured in 2018 with that year's budget. The 2018 budget made substantial and laudable investments in big data technologies, but lacked funds to create the data resources to support this work. This is like building an oil refinery without a well; without good data resources, even the most sophisticated scientists will not succeed, write Fahad Razak, Amol Verma, and Andreas Laupacis.The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Opinion

BY FAHAD RAZAK, AMOL VERMA, AND ANDREAS LAUPACIS

September 18, 2019

When clinicians care for patients, we generate enormous amounts of electronic clinical data. Every blood test, X-ray, or medication forms a rich repository of information. Combined across the health system, these billions of data points are the kind of ‘big data’ that could be used to improve pa...

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