FRANCAIS

April 28, 2005

The province would have better access to health professionals during a public health emergency under the proposed Regulated Health Profession Statutes Amendment Act, introduced today by Health Minister Tim Sale.

"We want to be able to expand our ability to access health professionals and additional human resources in the event of a public-health emergency," said Sale. "This act will allow regulatory bodies to recognize the qualifications of health-care providers coming into the province to assist when it has been determined a public-health emergency exists."

Sale also announced the act would authorize the collection of certain demographic information for an electronic registry of health-care providers. The information would allow Manitoba Health to:

·         validate the identity of a health professional seeking access to a patient’s personal-health information; and

·         generate information, in non-identifying form, for statistical purposes.

The minister said the act would facilitate the implementation of a national, electronic health-record system.

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