RE:RE:Pender Growth Fund Supports SaleWhat we are witnessing is a result of Health Canada and provinces inablity to realize a pan-Canadian health system. Through Canada Health Infoway (CHI), the feds and provinces have been trying to build a national system. The reality is it is costing too much and taking too long. Although their efforts have been noble, they are being eclipsed by technology, public expectations, and need for Canadian companies to remain competitive.
I think Loblaw with their 140 Primacy clinics and countless Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies are simply exhausted waiting for provinces to enable clinics to communicate electronically. The business case for Loblaw is that buying QHR will reduce their costs, increase revenue, and allow them to interface the EMR with their pharmacy systems. They will also have detailed insight into the end-to-end distribution of medications from physician order to pharmacy dispensing. This is something provinces can only dream of having. Provinces will likely be happy to support if provisions can be built in to provide the information they want. This can all be done in the absence of CHI funding, oversight and a bloated provincial IT project.
As for privacy concerns, I see no issue as Loblaw/QHR will still need to comply with provinces' privacy legislation. As for predatory concerns, I think this will not be the case as I foresee other non-Primacy clinics will be happy to migrate to a Loblaw/QHR/Accuro system if it includes a complete bi-directional interface to community pharmacies.
- Ciao