Health Service Information Leadership Connex Ontario: A Complete Information System Solution Available to Purchase

This article, a product of an IIMHL‐brokered partnership, concerns the requisites of today's health services information systems, and how an organisation in London, Ontario, Canada is responding to the addictions and mental health service information needs of the citizens of the Province of Ontario. The piece draws a parallel between theory regarding how stored data can be translated into information, knowledge, understanding and, ultimately, wisdom, and the practical needs of information and referral organisations as per their objective of providing their consumers with the value of current and accurate information. In the case of ConnexOntario ‐ funded by Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long‐Term Care ‐ the keys to this value are the powerful database that is used to house the data, and the innovative ‘front‐end application’ ‐ ConnexOntario eServices ‐ that allows users to input, retrieve and present the information as necessary. An emphasis is also placed on how eServices, in concert with the ConnexOntario database, helps promote the principle of mental health service leadership for its stakeholders, which is relevant as per the stated objective of the IIMHL.