What is Local Health Integration Networks (LHIN)

The purpose of this chapter is to undertake a critical examination of the emergence of e-health in the Canadian Province of Ontario. More than solely a technological challenge, the emergence and pursuit of e-health denote a complex governance transformation both within the province’s public sector and in terms of public-private partnering. The Ontario challenge here is complicated by the absence of formal regional mechanisms devoted to health care, a deficiency that has precipitated the creation of Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) to foster e-health strategies on a subprovincial basis, as well as ongoing difficulties in managing public information technologies. With respect to public-private partnering, a greater regionalization of decision-making and spending authorities, within transparent and locally accountable governance forums, could provide incentives for the private sector to work more directly subprovincially, enjoying greater degrees of freedom for collaboration via more manageable contracting arrangements.