27th May 2013

Government Invests in eHealth Innovation

Government of CanadaDuring a keynote speech at the 2013 e-Health: Accelerating Change conference, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, announced funding from the Canadian Government to support research projects focused on developing innovative new electronic health (ehealth) technologies. These technologies will capitalize on advances in electronic patient records, internet technology and mobile devices.

“Our Government continues to invest in and promote health care innovation to improve the health of Canadians and increase the efficiency of the health care system,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “These research projects aim to develop products that empower patients, assist health care providers, and enable better population health monitoring.”

eHealth is an essential enabler of health care in Canada. Through its investment of $2.1 billion, the Canadian Government is supporting Canada Health Infoway in its work with the provinces and territories and many other stakeholders to increase the availability of electronic health records and other ehealth technologies that benefit Canadians through improvements in patient access to service, the quality of health care and the efficiency of the system.

The funding announced today will support 16 new research projects through the eHealth Innovation Catalyst Grant program, led by the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research. The program focuses on promoting the development of innovative technologies that enable patients to self-manage their conditions via eheath applications, support health professional decision-making and enable enhanced population health monitoring.

“We are delighted with the response to our ehealth initiative and will continue to promote research in this important area,” said Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research. “Innovative new technologies are changing our approach towards chronic disease prevention and management. By capitalizing on the transformative potential that technology can bring to health care, we can increase the satisfaction of patients and health care providers and improve the accessibility and efficiency of the health care system.”

CIHR designed the eHealth Innovation Catalyst Grant program to stimulate the development of new health technologies and foster partnerships between researchers and the private sector to commercialize these technologies for widespread use. CIHR plans to relaunch the program in July 2013.

eHealth is an essential enabler of health care in Canada. Through its investment of $2.1 billion, the Canadian Government is supporting Canada Health Infoway in its work with the provinces and territories and many other stakeholders to increase the availability of electronic health records and other ehealth technologies that benefit Canadians through improvements in patient access to service, the quality of health care and the efficiency of the system.

The Canadian Government is providing $1.6M to support 16 new ehealth innovation projects across Canada. The projects were funded through a strategic research initiative led by the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research. The initiative was designed to stimulate ehealth innovations by integrating, augmenting and evaluating novel health information technologies to empower patients as partners in their care, create a new generation of decision tools for health professionals to enable individualized care, and monitor population health. The overall aim is to improve the efficiency of patient and population-centered care and enhance Canada’s competitive position in the ehealth sector.

Funded Projects

Nominated Principal Investigator Project Title Funding
Dr. Samina Abidi
Dalhousie University
(Halifax, NS)
D-WISE – A Diabetes Web-Centric Information and Support Environment: An E-health Solution Operationalizing Behaviour Change Models and Clinical Guidelines for Patient-centered Diabetes Self-management $99,905
Dr. Farah Ahmad
York University
(Toronto, ON)
Interactive Computer-assisted Screening (iCAS) for Depression in Primary Care $89,933
Dr. François Boudreau
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
(Trois-Rivières, QC)
Feasibility and efficacy of a computer-tailoring physical activity intervention to promote self-management of CVD risk factors: a pilot randomized control trial $99,800
Dr. Joseph Cafazzo
University Health Network (Toronto, ON)
Design and Evaluation of an mHealth Behavioural Intervention for the Self-Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus $99,350
Dr. Steven Grover
Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
(Montreal, QC)
Evaluating a Multidisciplinary E-Health Program to Promote Regular Physical Activity Among Individuals at Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease $99,390
Dr. Anne Holbrook
McMaster University
(Hamilton, ON)
Electronic Tools to Improve Anticoagulant Therapy for Individuals and Populations $98,776
Dr. Dawn Kingston
University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB)
Mental Health E-Screening in Pregnant and Postpartum Women $99,902
Dr. David Kreindler
Sunnybrook Research Institute (Toronto, ON)
Mental Health Telemetry for Self-Management in Major Depression $96,207
Dr. Linda Li
University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)
ANSWER-2: A biologic decision aid for patients with rheumatoid arthritis $96,661
Dr. Elsa Marziali
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care (Toronto, ON)
Development and Evaluation of an Internet Technology Platform for the Delivery of Evidence-based Intervention Programs to Adults with Chronic Disease $99,925
Dr. Erin Michalak
University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)
Quality of life in bipolar disorder: e-health engagement to move evidence into action. $100,000
Dr. Katherine Morrison
McMaster University
(Hamilton, ON)
Family-Centred E-Health in Pediatric Weight Management: A Pilot Study $95,918
Dr. Henry Stelfox
University of Calgary
(Calgary, AB)
Developing an Electronic Decision Support and Communication Tool for Intensive Care Unit Discharge $98,460
Dr. Jennifer Stinson
Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, ON)
My Team of Care-Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer (myTOC-AYAC): Development and Usability Testing of an Online Communication Tool for Collaborative Care in AYAC $99,972
Dr. Jennifer Stinson
Hospital for Sick Children
(Toronto, ON)
Virtual Peer-to-Peer (VP2P) Support Mentoring for Adolescents with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Feasibility Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial $99,987
Dr. Christy Tomkins-Lane
Mount Royal University
(Calgary, AB)
The Spinal Stenosis Pedometer and Nutrition e-Health Lifestyle Intervention (SSPANLI) Randomized Trial $98,968
TOTAL $1,573,154
This entry was posted on Monday, May 27th, 2013 at 10:01 am and is filed under Government, National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
  1. Tami Quiring (@VillageGamer)
    3:02 am on May 27th, 2013

    Canadian Government Invests in eHealth Innovation http://t.co/Lnji7SQYAh

  2. ORION (@ORIONNetwork)
    3:03 am on May 27th, 2013

    Canadian Government Invests in eHealth Innovation http://t.co/XXWZQG4ylO

  3. Sasha Boersma (@sashaboersma)
    3:09 am on May 27th, 2013

    RT @VillageGamer: Canadian Government Invests in eHealth Innovation http://t.co/Lnji7SQYAh

  4. IDMCentennialCollege (@IDMCentennial)
    3:09 am on May 27th, 2013

    RT @VillageGamer: Canadian Government Invests in eHealth Innovation http://t.co/Lnji7SQYAh

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Archives

  • Subscribe to our Newsletter


  • Select a list:

  • GWEN Radio
  • Gamers Giving Back