The 2012 Canadian Health Informatics Award (CHIA) for clinician leadership has been awarded to Dr. Diamond Kassum (pictured), chief medical information officer for Manitoba eHealth. The award was granted in recognition of his passion for emerging technology and vision for improving efficiencies with electronic records, which has allowed Manitoba to leap forward with implementation of many vital clinical IT systems.
Although Manitoba is a relative latecomer to the ehealth table, the province has made enormous gains in recent years, says Kassum. “Three years ago, only 15 percent of our family physicians in Manitoba had functional EMRs outside of billing systems. By the end of 2013, we expect to have 70 per cent. We’ve moved rapidly into the primary care arena as subsidies have been obtained from both federal and provincial government to install EMRs into primary care offices.”
Ismailimail 