From Stasis to Crisis: How and What Now for Canada's Healthcare Systems?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare policy and innovation
• Health services research
• Canadian healthcare system analysis

Background:

• Canada's healthcare system faces persistent challenges including poor integration and workforce planning, identified by the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation (APHI) in 2015.
• Limited progress has been made in addressing these issues through top-down reforms and federal initiatives.
• The need for a new strategy is evident due to the ongoing healthcare crisis and low innovation indices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of Canada's healthcare system reforms.
• To propose a new model for healthcare innovation based on bottom-up collaboration.
• To explore the potential for commercializing Canadian healthcare innovations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of APHI recommendations and subsequent healthcare system progress.
• Review of federal and provincial/territorial reform strategies.
• Conceptual framework development for a collaborative innovation model.

Main Results:

• Modest progress has been observed in addressing systemic healthcare shortcomings over the past decade.
• Top-down reforms and federal "buy change" initiatives have yielded limited results.
• The APHI's foresight regarding the challenges of structural reform is validated.

Conclusions:

• A bottom-up model of collaborative catalysis, evaluation, and scaling of healthcare innovations is recommended.
• This new model offers a promising approach to address Canada's healthcare crisis.
• Selective commercialization of novel Canadian healthcare goods and services can be facilitated by this innovative approach.