Introduction

Since 2007, Manitoba has been committed to a unified and comprehensive e-Health strategy that relies on information and communications technology (ICT) to enable a province-wide system of connected and effective healthcare delivery and management across the full continuum of healthcare settings. Originally, the provincial government invested $150 million (CAD) in healthcare ICT. Going forward, the province is planning for expenditures of up to $40 million annually to fund ongoing and new projects that, over time, flesh out the complete e-Health Strategy (Province of Manitoba News Release 2007). Like other provinces and territories, Manitoba is employing ICT to create a paperless and seamless unified healthcare system that connects all stakeholders and overcomes the silos of legacy healthcare information existing in a sea of paper. Manitoba's e-Health approach is distinctive in that it combines a foundation of province-wide primary care delivery through collaboration with physician offices, health centres and clinics, with a tiered approach to full service in-patient delivery at 15 of the province's 65 hospitals designated as general acute care facilities.