Rosie Lombardi-CIO Government Review

Now over two years into reorganization along regional lines, Ontario's 14 fledgling LHINs (Local Health Integration Networks) must learn to speak with one voice and their systems must talk to one another. Their impact is being felt in many areas and will continue to grow as they integrate disjointed parts into a provincial system.

Health care regionalization has marched its way province by province across Canada, with Ontario coming up last. Today, there are about 103 regional health authorities. Under the auspices of Canada Health Infoway, the provinces are driving the federal e-health agenda to digitize the components needed ultimately for electronic health records (EHRs).