Health-care leaders publish new report and urgent open letter to Canadians

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 24, 2023 /CNW/ - The Public Policy Forum released an important new report today entitled Taking Back Health Care: How to Accelerate People-Centred Reform Now, as well as an open letter to Canadians signed by leading authorities in health-care reform.

The report says health-care funding should be rooted in health outcomes that matter most to the people of Canada; reform should start with the expectations of Canadians, and decision-makers should work back from there. As well, the report recognizes health as an economic pillar and pushes for reforms necessary to achieve timely, accessible care.

The report's authors argue for new goals to guide reform, including:

• Access to a primary care team within a 30-minute drive of where you live or work;
• The free, accredited movement of doctors, nurses, technicians and other health-care workers within Canada;
• Personal data mobility; and
• Better empowerment of family and friends to help care for loved ones.

The report is authored by an expert panel that includes:

• Dr. Bob Bell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Surgery, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto;
• Georgina Black, Vice Chair & Managing Partner Government, Health & Life Sciences, Deloitte Canada;
• Jodi Butts;
• Dr. Vivek Goel, President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor, Schools of Pharmacy and Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo;
• Dr. Alika Lafontaine, President, Canadian Medical Association;
• Dr. Victoria Lee, Clinical Associate Professor, University of British Columbia; Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University;
• David MacNaughton, President, Palantir Technologies Canada;
• Dr. Danielle Martin, Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; and
• Dr. Jane Philpott, Dean, Queen's University Health Science.

Taking Back Health Care: How to Accelerate People-Centred Reform Now is the first report in a year-long project, co-ordinated by PPF, to provide provincial and federal governments with up-to-the-minute policy advice as the current health-care crisis unfolds. Other subject areas will be examined in coming months, including primary care, data and digital technology, care and wellness of older people, and mental health services.

In an open letter to Canadians also published today, health-care leaders write that "our health-care system belongs to all of us. It is not a possession of politicians, or the property of stakeholders claiming special status to speak in its interest. They are the custodians, the guardians to whom we have entrusted the system's welfare."

The writers of the open letter conclude that health-care reform "doesn't have to wait for a grand bargain that all governments bless at the same time."

"Reform should move forward now wherever the will exists to act. Ambition, purpose, urgency and leadership are required — along with the support of all of health care's owners."

The Public Policy Forum is a think tank about tomorrow. It builds bridges among diverse participants in the policy-making process and gives them a platform to examine issues, offer new perspectives and feed fresh ideas into critical policy discussions. PPF contributes by conducting research on critical issues, convening candid dialogues on research subjects and recognizing exceptional leaders. It is an independent, non-partisan charity, whose members are a diverse group of private, public and non-profit organizations.

SOURCE Public Policy Forum