National rules for health data interoperability ‘vaporized’

A major pillar upon which digital health advocates had been building their hopes for better interoperability of health data in Canada has been swept away by the prorogation of Parliament.Bill C-72—the Connected Care for Canadians Act—was introduced in June 2024 “to ensure that health information technology that is licensed, sold or supplied as a service by a vendor is interoperable and to prohibit data blocking by the vendor in order to promote a connected, secure and person-centered health system.”However, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament on Jan. 6 consideration of Bill C-72 and all other government legislation in progress were—in the words of one journalist—“vaporized.” Or in the words of the Senate “cease(d) to exist.” The odds of the legislation being reintroduced and adopted in March when Parliament reconvenes are next to non-existent given the desire of opposition parties to call a new election.The loss of Bill C-72 is a major blow for those who feel the need to accelerate progress towards health data interoperability on Canada is essential—not least of all to enhance patient safety. The Digital Health Interoperability Task Force with representation from the Canadian Medical Association, other national medical organizations and Canada Health Infoway, acknowledged just how important national legislation is to advance interoperability.The task force issued its report in November and its second recommendation specifically references Bill C-72 and states “the necessary policy and legislation work underway at the federal level to drive comprehensive interoperability of health data in Canada should be aggressively accelerated and supported by provincial and territorial governments.”Pat Rich is a Canadian health journalist and former editor of the Medical Post. This item originally appeared on LinkedIn.

National rules for health data interoperability ‘vaporized’

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