Enabling effective, quality population and patient-centred care : Provincial strategy for health information management and technology

The purpose of this paper is to set the strategic framework and direction for health sector IM/IT and to recommend key IM/IT actions to support implementation of the provincial health care strategy. [...] The first half of the paper provides an overview of the business of health care and the potential role that IM/IT might play in enabling and supporting strategic change of the health system. [...] It includes an overview of the purpose of the health system – population and patient health – and a brief overview of the emerging population and patient needs of British Columbians. [...] The Primary and Community Care in BC paper emphasizes the need to drive decision making and care restructuring based on the following principles: 1. Patient-Centred: Recognizing the need for health care to consider the whole person and not simply the presenting health issue, primary and community health services will be centered on the health needs of individuals, their families and communities. [...] Rural Health Services in BC: A Policy Framework to Provide a System of Quality Care Synopsis The focus of the Rural Health Services in BC paper is on the wide variety of challenges and strategies to improve access to health care in rural and remote communities.