Our health care system depends, and in effect runs on, information. This is why the Ontario government has committed to improving our ability to collect more accurate and up-to-date information. This will enable health system managers and decision-makers to more effectively manage all the data that health care providers, like hospitals and Community Care Access Centres, produce. It will help them to better track and monitor how the health care system serves the public. It is a more accountable way of managing the system.

The Ontario government has developed a strategy to address the system-wide need for better information management. The strategy is focused on producing better data, supporting accountability and quality improvement through performance measurement, and supporting evidence-based decision-making. This involves setting standards for data quality, better coordination of data collected by health care providers, and the consolidation of information into a common, integrated knowledge base.

The goal of the strategy is to build a system that people can count on – one that is more efficient, effective and accountable. A system that provides objective, timely and accurate information is the basis for decisions that are in the best interest of patients. With better information and through enhanced information management, the government will be able to accurately measure and track how the system is performing, so that people can assess the system’s quality and progress.

Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto and the principal investigator for the Hospital Report Research Collaborative, was appointed Lead for Information Management for the government’s Health Results Team in September 2004 and is spearheading this province-wide effort.

For more information about Information Management initiatives, you can select one of the subsections in the menu on the left, or go to the Information Management section on the Health Care Providers' section of the web site.

Read all about progress to date and ongoing activities related to Information Management in the monthly newsletter, Information Management News.

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