Ontario Chamber of Commerce calls on Government to implement a Health Cabinet with oversight for provincial health-related spending

Managing innovation requires cross-functional action from government

Today, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released the report, Care in Our Control: Managing Innovation in Ontario's Multi-Payer Health Care System. The report examines why Ontario struggles to capture value for money spent, particularly on health innovations like pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The report recommends a new approach to this challenge by calling on the provincial government to create a Health Cabinet, to break down silos between Ministries in order to improve the way Ontario is investing in health care.

As medical devices and pharmaceuticals become more sophisticated, patient quality of life has the opportunity to greatly improve. However, government continues to struggle to afford new innovations that are entering the market with increasing rapidity. In order to adopt innovation while ensuring the province's system is fiscally sustainable, the government must better understand the value that innovation can bring across the system, to other public services, and to the health and wellness of Ontarians.

"Innovation is not being materialized. Across Canada, there are over 4,000 new medical devices licensed every year and not enough of them are getting to Ontario patients," said Allan O'Dette, President and CEO of the OCC. "Government needs to reform how the value of innovation is being assessed so that the lowest cost option is not the default, in doing so, we're not putting patients first."

Effectively integrating innovative treatments into the current health care system requires collaborative budget decision-making, and an understanding that spending in one area could result in savings in another. In Ontario, being able to measure the value of health care spending in this way means breaking down budget "silos" that exist between government Ministries. Currently, the system lacks structures that allow for the value of innovative treatments to be considered across multiple budgets.

"The formation of a Health Cabinet would help individual ministries understand how decisions within the health care system can impact other public services, and vice versa," added O'Dette. "Ontario is a source of great health innovation, and having a conduit between the ministries responsible for health, social services, research, and economic development would improve our ability to use those innovations for the benefit of all Ontarians.

The OCC's report argues that a Health Cabinet should also facilitate improved public/private relationships by including stakeholders from industry, research and academia. This would help government take advantage of the knowledge and capacity of experts in the health sector while creating a forum for collaboration and partnership across government Ministries that is dedicated to improving patient outcomes, including a specific focus on the challenges of our aging population.

SOURCE Ontario Chamber of Commerce

CIHR Canadian Pain Research summit's groundbreaking collaboration will help in fight against pain

Canadian and international pain researchers, clinicians, partners, charities, patients and policymakers discuss the development of a national pain research agenda

From September 18-20, 2016, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is hosting a Canadian Pain Research Summit where researchers, clinicians, partners, charities, patients and policymakers will work together to create a national agenda that will help CIHR Institutes develop new funding opportunities for pain research.

Canada is an international leader in basic and pediatric pain research.  The Government of Canada, through CIHR, has helped address the treatment and quality of care of patients suffering from pain by providing $16 million in annual funding support to over 1,200 physical and psychological pain researchers. Through Canada's Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR), CIHR and its partners have also created a Chronic Pain Network which specializes in directing new research, training researchers and clinicians, increasing access to care for chronic pain sufferers, and speeding up the translation of the most recent research discoveries into care of patients.  The development of an evidence-based Canadian Pain Research agenda at this summit will help Canadian researchers and clinicians create better care and treatments for patients who suffer from pain in social, psychological or physical ways.

Quotes
"The Government of Canada applauds all participants at the Canadian Pain Research Summit. Their collective effort to address gaps that currently exist between basic research and clinical practice will further the ability to improve treatments for Canadians who suffer from chronic, acute and psychological pain."
The Honourable Jane Philpott
Minister of Health

"CIHR has been a staunch supporter of pain research over the years, most recently through the establishment of a Chronic Pain Network within the framework of Canada's Strategy for Patient Oriented Research. While Canada remains a prominent leader in this field, more needs to be done to address the complexities of pain on a physical, psychological and social level. Through this summit, CIHR is encouraging the type of multi-stakeholder collaboration that will allow the expansion of pain research and its translation into better pain management."
Dr. Alain Beaudet
President, CIHR

Quick Facts

• In addition to its impact on quality of life, chronic pain costs Canadians $43-$60 billion per year in health care expenses and lost productivity at work (which is more than cancer, heart disease, and HIV combined).
• Launched in 2011, Canada's SPOR initiative represents federal, provincial and territorial members (including patients, caregivers, researchers, policy makers, charities, private sector and university representatives) who work together to bring innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to health care, and improve quality and accessibility of various treatments.
• This summit was organized by CIHR Institutes of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (CIHR-IMHA), Aboriginal Peoples' Health (CIHR-IAPH), Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA), Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR), and Gender and Health (CIHR-IGH).

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

SOURCE Canadian Institutes of Health Research