Mrs. Carol Mitchell: I certainly am very pleased to respond on behalf of the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. I want to speak first with regard to the question on the legal opinion. Following the release of the Auditor General's special report on Ontario's electronic health records initiative dated October 7, 2009, eHealth Ontario's board of directors sought independent legal advice regarding the awarding of the $737,000 contract as described on page 12 of the auditor's report. The board felt this extra degree of due diligence was important from a governance perspective, and the legal opinion clearly states, "In our opinion, the facts set out in the Auditor General's report do not provide evidence of a criminal offence."
I wanted to speak to that specifically and then I wanted to talk about moving forward, because we certainly understand how important e-health is to the people of Ontario and how it's such an important part of moving our health care system forward. Ontarians also expect that their tax dollars be properly invested, and so do we. We want to ensure that every single dime we invest in the health care system goes toward improving patient care. We've taken these concerns very seriously and we've taken swift action to ensure that taxpayers' dollars are used prudently. That is why we asked the Auditor General to report on his own review as quickly as possible. That's also why we have implemented new procurement rules across the board in the Ontario government. We've curtailed unnecessary expense claims with additional mechanisms for accountability and transparency.
Our investments in electronic health records are significant and they're helping us make real progress in our health care. They will ultimately result in better patient care, more efficient health care services and delivery for all of Ontario.
It's important that we keep moving forward on our e-health agenda. We're not alone in this desire. I want to quote from the president of the Ontario Medical Association: "This is a grand task and one that requires a long-term commitment. The expectations are both promising and exciting, and it is imperative the government and physicians get on with the job of getting every patient in Ontario an electronic medical record." We're committed to this goal and to ensuring that the money that we spend on eHealth is devoted to initiatives that will strengthen and modernize the province's health care system.
We have had accomplishments, and I want to speak to those. Since 2008, 80,000 Ontarians are in a pilot project for ePrescribing, and that will help save lives. Since 2005, more than four million Ontarians are already participating in the electronic medical records program run in partnership by the province and the Ontario Medical Association. More than one million children have electronic health records as well.
All Ontario hospitals have gone filmless and are now using digital diagnostic scans, which will ultimately allow for scans to be shared all across the province. The drug profile viewer provides authorized health care providers in Ontario's 245 public hospitals with drug claim histories for 2.3 million recipients of the Ontario drug benefit, and it operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The integrated public health information system is used by all of our 36 public health units for reportable infectious disease surveillance and management, and we certainly have heard a lot about this system in the press recently because it was used extensively to respond to the H1N1 pandemic.
The Ontario Telemedicine Network helps patients in remote areas get medical consultations via video conferencing, with over 70,000 teleconferencing events taking place annually.
And there's more. The Ontario lab information system provides electronic access to patients' lab results, regardless of where they are performed in Ontario. This system contains over 50% of Ontario's lab test results.
Unfortunately, Speaker, I have run out of time, but I do thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond today.
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