Computers for example can be used to help patients with their medications. Charlyn Black, head of the Center for Health Services and Policy Research at the University of British Columbia told the CBC i t can "make sure patients are receiving refills, that they don't forget to take medications, that they get reminders for important preventive care".
One possible reason Canada hasn't switched systems is cost.
Richard Alvarez, president and CEO of Canada Health Infoway, the government-created group overseeing the computerization of health systems told CBC this year's federal budget has $400 million devoted for the health-care system's information technology, but computerizing doctors' offices alone will cost another $2 billion.
Alvarez said the government is reluctant to make the required investment.
Family physician Dr. Robert Oliver recognizes the benefits and is amongst the 20 percent of Canadian doctors who keep electronic records. He told the CBC, "I think the biggest barrier is physicians are comfortable doing what they're doing...they don't see the advantages of the electronic record necessarily versus the cost of it".
Black says that Canada is among a few industrialized countries that have yet to embrace the idea of keeping electronic health records.
