Personal Healthcare Management could reshape Canadian Healthcare System, suggests recent survey
Toronto, December 13, 2005 – As part of its annual membership survey, Canadian MedicAlert Foundation examined perceptions towards healthcare that included patient participation, sharing of medical information and reaction to online health records.
“Each year, MedicAlert polls its members to find out how we are doing in providing services that meet their needs,” explains Stephen Reid, Director of Marketing and Communications. “This year we want to expand this initiative to gauge their opinion on important healthcare topics.”
Canadian MedicAlert members were asked a series of healthcare related questions. Of those surveyed:
- 75% of respondents believe that Canadians should take more responsibility for their health and safety in a medical emergency and 68% are comfortable managing their own health information
- 67% agree that doctors and health professionals have the tools to share patient information, but only 51% feel that they do a good job at sharing this information with each other
- 47% are concerned with the trend that more personalized health information is contained online, but only 36% see online personalized health information as a loss of privacy
“Given the active involvement our members have in their healthcare, we are not surprised that they believe Canadians should take more responsibility for their health and safety in a medical emergency, said Reid. “However, it is interesting to note that although almost half of those surveyed are concerned about personalized health information being contained online, only one-third view it as a loss of privacy.” The premium MedicAlert places on patient confidentiality has earned the trust of over one million Canadian members and the healthcare community across the country.
The online survey was conducted between September 20th and October 3rd, 2005 by Gadd International Research among a representative sample of 1,000 adult MedicAlert members in Canada. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% at 95% confidence level.
MedicAlert is Canada’s largest member-based, charity organization dedicated to providing services that protect and save lives. As a trusted healthcare partner, members rely on MedicAlert to provide critical medical information between them and emergency responders 24 hours a day.
For more than forty years, over one million Canadians have chosen MedicAlert to provide them with protection and peace of mind in case of a medical emergency. Whenever you see the MedicAlert emblem, you can count on MedicAlert to help emergency medical personnel to respond with appropriate and timely treatment.
The services provided by MedicAlert are also recognized by the Canadian healthcare community. Canadian MedicAlert Foundation is endorsed by CAEP (Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians) and NENA (National Emergency Nurses Affiliation), and works in partnership with a Canada-wide network of health organizations, hospitals, pharmacies, doctors’ offices, medical clinics and public health centres.
For more information, please contact Robert Blair, Marketing Manager at (416) 696-0142 ext. 1251.
