Innovation in the Canadian health system

The essence of human ingenuity is creation and novel ideas that result in collective and desired impact. Indeed, innovation is foundational to life in a changing world. In no situation today is this more relevant than in health systems, whether they be challenged to maintain population health, threatened by impending disasters, or expected to respond to the ever-expansive demand and inexorable course of those with chronic diseases. This article discusses health system innovation and its trajectory. It focuses on clinical innovation as a means of achieving high-level performance within a learning health system model. Examples of innovation in Canada are used to illustrate successful approaches worthy of broader consideration and pan-Canadian attention.