Last Friday, Bill Crounse, MD & Senior Director of Worldwide Health at Microsoft, posted his thoughts about TELUS health space:

“Lately, some folks have been questioning whether citizens are ready for a personal health record, or for that matter, even want one.  Citing Google’s struggle to be relevant with Google Health,  Health industry analyst John Chilmark recently questioned whether there is a market for personal health records.  Well, there may not yet be a “market” but to me that entirely misses the point.  What we are talking about here is not a market, it’s a fundamental upgrade to the ways people have traditionally received health information and medical services.  It’s a shift that puts citizens and patients back where they belong in health and healthcare and that is at the center of it all.”

He’s right... and we have the facts to back it up.  Here are a few numbers that confirm that Canadians already support further deployment of consumer health solutions:

• 61% of consumers want their physicians, hospitals and/or the government to provide them with a personal health record (PHR) or online medical record, while 6% of Canadians already maintain one.
• 66% would like to access a family member’s PHR.
• 58% want online tools to help them assess, monitor and manage their health (risk assessment questionnaires, health diaries, etc.)