The federal government's Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation is seeking input online from the public for a Canada-wide consultation on innovation in healthcare.
The Advisory Panel describes innovation as "finding better ways of providing services or achieving goals." The Advisory Panel has been specifically asked to find innovation that could improve care for patients without raising the overall cost of the healthcare system for taxpayers. They will also be recommending ways that the federal government can support innovation.
In my opinion, peers sharing with peers (caregiver to caregiver, patient to patient) is the single most important innovation in the connected health era. Patients and caregivers know things–about themselves, about each other, about treatments, about coping techniques - and they want to share what they know to help other people. Thanks to the social Web and online communities such as Virtual Hospice, people facing a new diagnosis, undergoing treatment, or living with chronic illness can tap into larger networks to share information and find support.
Many of you have posted messages on Virtual Hospice's Discussion Forums talking about how much the online community has helped support you. I encourage you to complete the online questionnaire and to remember Virtual Hospice in your comments about innovation.
Click the link to take the survey http://surveys-sondages.hc-sc.gc.ca/s/healthcare_innovation_soinsdesante/?p=0
The first 6 questions are open-ended questions that require some thought. You can skip any question. The last half of the survey goes very quickly, asking questions like age, gender, etc. Here are the first 6 questions:
- Have you seen or experienced innovation in the healthcare system? Please describe.
- Based on your experience with the healthcare system, what is working well?
- What are the successes that you think should be copied elsewhere in Canada?
- Based on your experience with the healthcare system, what is not working well?
- What do you think needs to be done in order to make the healthcare system in Canada better?
- Is there anything else you would like the panel to know about innovation in the health system?
The deadline for participation is November 10th, 2014.