TORONTO, October 28, 2020 – As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, bringing economies to a standstill and stretching healthcare systems, it also presented us with many opportunities to strengthen Canada’s digital ecosystem. Notably for our Canadian health care system. Challenges that Canadian health information organizations faced in the wake of the pandemic to access safe and trusted, accurate, quality and timely health data have been debilitating. The country has experienced firsthand that delays and gaps in health data and information have greatly affected our health systems in the delivery and planning of health services.
These events have led to the uprise of a nation-wide consensus that Canadian health information organizations need a stronger, future-proof framework that provides structure and focus on the implementation of data and information governance.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) recently launched the Health Data and Information Governance Framework, an assessment toolkit that helps organizations better govern their data and information, both individually and collectively along data supply chains.
In response to the urgent need, the CIO Strategy Council’s Technical Committee on Data Governance is currently leading the development of a national standard for the health data and information capability framework. Collecting health data and information while ensuring that Canadians’ privacy and personal information is protected remains a top priority. This national standard aims to provide guidance to health organizations in the collection, usage, storage, protection and distribution of fit-for-purpose data.
Interested parties are welcome to join the CIO Strategy Council’s Technical Committee on Data Governance to advance the development of the national standard and contribute to the work.
About CIO Strategy Council
The CIO Strategy Council (CIOSC) provides a forum for Canada’s most forward-thinking chief information officers to focus on collectively transforming, shaping, and influencing the Canadian information and technology ecosystem. The Council has deployed a nationally-accredited, agile, and consensus-based standards-setting process that matches the speed of innovation and advancement in ICT. Learn more at ciostrategycouncil.com.
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For more information about the national standard:
Matthew MacNeil
Director, Standards and Technology
CIO Strategy Council
matthew.macneil@ciostrategycouncil.com
For media inquiries:
Megan Ip
Senior Communications Manager
CIO Strategy Council
megan.ip@ciostrategycouncil.com