A decade after this multimillion dollar shell game
where we all got told that someone was listening
almost every recommendation this report made
was ignored or shelved completely
The report was right and identified numerous serious health and privacy concerns
none of which have been corrected
Shame on you Prime Minister Harper
you are using the healthcare system to oppress
the lower classes
are getting lower healthcare
private information is being misused
and malpractice is the norm without repercussions
Canadians make over a dozen visits for things that should take two good visits
Why are we waiting for healthcare?
Our government is pumping billions of dollars of resources out
and 3\4 of canada is still paying some form of medicare "fee" end user protection racket
All so stevie's doctor friends can become millionaires...
The conclusion of the Report set out 47 recommendations along with a timetable for their implementation.
Recommendation 1 – A new Canadian Health Covenant should be
established as a common declaration of Canadians’ and their governments’
commitment to a universally accessible, publicly funded health care
system. To this end, First Ministers should meet at the earliest
opportunity to agree on this Covenant.
Recommendation 2 – A Health Council of Canada
should be established by the provincial, territorial and federal
governments to facilitate co-operation and provide national leadership
in achieving the best health outcomes in the world. The Health Council
should be built on the existing infrastructure of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and the Canadian Coordinating Office of Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA).
Recommendation 3 – On an initial basis, the Health Council of Canada
should: Establish common indicators and measure the performance of the
health care system; Establish benchmarks, collect information and report
publicly on efforts to improve quality, access and outcomes in the
health care system; and coordinate existing activities in health
technology assessment and conduct independent evaluations of
technologies, including their impact on rural and remote delivery and
the patterns of practice for various health care providers.
Recommendation 4 – In the longer term, the Health Council of
Canada should provide ongoing advice and coordination in transforming
primary health care, developing national strategies for Canada’s health
workforce, and resolving disputes under a modernized Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 5 – The Canada Health Act
should be modernized and strengthened by: Confirming the principles of
public administration, universality and accessibility, updating the
principles of portability and comprehensiveness, and establishing a new
principle of accountability; Expanding insured health services beyond
hospital and physician services to immediately include targeted home
care services followed by prescription drugs in the longer term;
Clarifying coverage in terms of diagnostic services; Including an
effective dispute resolution process; and Establishing a dedicated
health transfer directly connected to the principles and conditions of
the Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 6 – To provide adequate funding, a new dedicated cash-only Canada Health Transfer
should be established by the federal government. To provide long-term
stability and predictability, the Transfer should include an escalator
that is set in advance for five year periods.
Recommendation 7 – On a short-term basis, the federal
government should provide targeted funding for the next two years to
establish: a new Rural and Remote Access Fund; a new Diagnostic Services
Fund; a Primary Health Care Transfer; a Home Care Transfer; and a
Catastrophic Drug Transfer
Recommendation 8 – A personal electronic health record for
each Canadian that builds upon the work currently underway in provinces
and territories.
Recommendation 9 – Canada Health Infoway
should continue to take the lead on this initiative and be responsible
for developing a pan-Canadian electronic health record framework built
upon provincial systems, including ensuring the interoperability of
current electronic health information systems and addressing issues such
as security standards and harmonizing privacy policies.
Recommendation 10 – Individual Canadians should have ownership
over their personal health information, ready access to their personal
health records, clear protection of the privacy of their health records,
and better access to comprehensive and credible information about
health, health care and the health system.
Recommendation 11 – Amendments should be made to the Criminal Code of Canada
to protect Canadians’ privacy and to explicitly prevent the abuse or
misuse of personal health information, with violations in this area
considered a criminal offense.
Recommendation 12 – Canada Health Infoway
should support health literacy by developing and maintaining an
electronic health information base to link Canadians to health
information that is properly researched, trustworthy and credible as
well as support more widespread efforts to promote good health.
Recommendation 13 – The Health Council of Canada
should take action to streamline technology assessment in Canada,
increase the effectiveness, efficiency and scope of technology
assessment, and enhance the use of this assessment in guiding decisions.
Recommendation 14 – Steps should be taken to bridge current
knowledge gaps in applied policy areas, including rural and remote
health, health human resources, health promotion, and pharmaceutical policy.
Recommendation 15 – A portion of the proposed Rural and Remote
Access Fund, the Diagnostic Services Fund, the Primary Health Care
Transfer, and the Home Care Transfer should be used to improve the
supply and distribution of health care providers, encourage changes to
their scopes and patterns of practice, and ensure that the best use is
made of the mix of skills of different health care providers.
Recommendation 16 – The Health Council of Canada
should systematically collect, analyze and regularly report on relevant
and necessary information about the Canadian health workforce,
including critical issues related to the recruitment, distribution, and
remuneration of health care providers.
Recommendation 17 – The Health Council of Canada
should review existing education and training programs and provide
recommendations to the provinces and territories on more integrated
education programs for preparing health care providers, particularly for
primary health care settings.
Recommendation 18 – The Health Council of Canada
should develop a comprehensive plan for addressing issues related to
the supply, distribution, education and training, remuneration, skills
and patterns of practice for Canada’s health workforce.
Recommendation 19 – The proposed Primary Health Care Transfer
should be used to “fast-track” primary health care implementation.
Funding should be conditional on provinces and territories moving ahead
with primary health care reflecting four essential building blocks –
continuity of care, early detection and action, better information on
needs and outcomes, and new and stronger incentives to achieve
transformation.
Recommendation 20 – The Health Council of Canada
should sponsor a National Summit on Primary Health Care within two
years to mobilize concerted action across the country, assess early
results, and identify actions that must be taken to remove obstacles to
primary health care implementation.
Recommendation 21 – The Health Council of Canada
should play a leadership role in following up on the outcomes of the
Summit, measuring and tracking progress, sharing information and
comparing Canada’s results to leading countries around the world, and
reporting to Canadians on the progress of implementing primary health
care in Canada.
Recommendation 22 – Prevention of illness and injury, and
promotion of good health should be strengthened with the initial
objective of making Canada a world leader in reducing tobacco use and
obesity.
Recommendation 23 – All governments should adopt and implement
the strategy developed by the Federal, Provincial and Territorial
Ministers Responsible for Sport, Recreation and Fitness to improve
physical activity in Canada.
Recommendation 24 – A national immunization strategy should be
developed to ensure that all children are immunized against serious
illnesses and Canada is well prepared to address potential problems from
new and emerging infectious diseases.
Recommendation 25 – Provincial and territorial governments
should use the new Diagnostic Services Fund to improve access to medical
diagnostic services.
Recommendation 26 – Provincial and territorial governments
should take immediate action to manage wait lists more effectively by
implementing centralized approaches, setting standardized criteria, and
providing clear information to patients on how long they can expect to
wait.
Recommendation 27 – Working with the provinces and territories, the Health Council of Canada
should establish a national framework for measuring and assessing the
quality and safety of Canada’s health care system, comparing the
outcomes with other OECD countries, and reporting regularly to
Canadians.
Recommendation 28 – Governments, regional health authorities,
health care providers, hospitals and community organizations should work
together to identify and respond to the needs of official language
minority communities.
Recommendation 29 – Governments, regional health authorities,
and health care providers should continue their efforts to develop
programs and services that recognize the different health care needs of
men and women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and new
Canadians.
Recommendation 30 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to attract and retain health care providers.
Recommendation 31 – A portion of the Rural and Remote Access Fund
should be used to support innovative ways of expanding rural
experiences for physicians, nurses and other health care providers as
part of their education and training.
Recommendation 32 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund should be used to support the expansion of telehealth approaches.
Recommendation 33 – The Rural and Remote Access Fund
should be used to support innovative ways of delivering health care
services to smaller communities and to improve the health of people in
those communities.
Recommendation 34 – The proposed new Home Care Transfer should be used to support expansion of the Canada Health Act
to include medically necessary home care services in the following
areas: Home mental health case management and intervention services
should immediately be included in the scope of medically necessary
services covered under the Canada Health Act;
Home care services for post-acute patients, including coverage for
medication management and rehabilitation services, should be included
under the Canada Health Act; and palliative home care services to support people in their last six months of life should also be included under the Canada Health Act.
Recommendation 35 – Human Resources Development Canada, in conjunction with Health Canada
should be directed to develop proposals to provide direct support to
informal caregivers to allow them to spend time away from work to
provide necessary home care assistance at critical times.
Recommendation 36 – The proposed new Catastrophic Drug
Transfer should be used to reduce disparities in coverage across the
country by covering a portion of the rapidly growing costs of provincial
and territorial drug plans.
Recommendation 37 – A new National Drug Agency should be
established to evaluate and approve new prescription drugs, provide
ongoing evaluation of existing drugs, negotiate and contain drug prices,
and provide comprehensive, objective and accurate information to health
care providers and to the public.
Recommendation 38 – Working collaboratively with the provinces
and territories, the National Drug Agency should create a national
prescription drug formulary based on a transparent and accountable
evaluation and priority-setting process.
Recommendation 39 – A new program on medication management
should be established to assist Canadians with chronic and some
life-threatening illnesses. The program should be integrated with
primary health care approaches across the country.
Recommendation 40 – The National Drug Agency should develop
standards for the collection and dissemination of prescription drug data
on drug utilization and outcomes.
Recommendation 41 – The federal government should immediately
review the pharmaceutical industry practices related to patent
protection, specifically, the practices of evergreening and the notice
of compliance regulations. This review should ensure that there is an
appropriate balance between the protection of intellectual property and
the need to contain costs and provide Canadians with improved access to
non-patented prescription drugs.
Recommendation 42 – Current funding for Aboriginal health
services provided by the federal, provincial and territorial governments
and Aboriginal organizations should be pooled into single consolidated
budgets in each province and territory to be used to integrate
Aboriginal health care services, improve access, and provide adequate,
stable and predictable funding.
Recommendation 43 – The consolidated budgets should be used to
fund new Aboriginal Health Partnerships that would be responsible for
developing policies, providing services and improving the health of
Aboriginal peoples. These partnerships could take many forms and should
reflect the needs, characteristics and circumstances of the population
served.
Recommendation 44 – Federal and provincial governments should
prevent potential challenges to Canada’s health care system by: Ensuring
that any future reforms they implement are protected under the
definition of “public services” included in international law or trade
agreements to which Canada is party; and reinforcing Canada’s position
that the right to regulate health care policy should not be subject to
claims for compensation from foreign-based companies.
Recommendation 45 – The federal government should build
alliances with other countries, especially with members of the World
Trade Organization, to ensure that future international trade
agreements, agreements on intellectual property, and labour standards
make explicit allowance for both maintaining and expanding publicly
insured, financed and delivered health care.
Recommendation 46 – The federal government should play a more
active leadership role in international efforts to assist developing
nations in strengthening their health care systems through foreign aid
and development programs. Particular emphasis should be placed on
training health care providers and on public health initiatives.
Recommendation 47 – Provincial, territorial and federal
governments and health organizations should reduce their reliance on
recruiting health care professionals from developing countries.
