Patients, families key to changing the system. When Glenn Fahner was paralyzed after a fall during a fishing trip in August 2009, he was sent to Michigan for care because there were no appropriate hospital beds for him in Ontario.
The heartbreaking stories of two women who believe their fathers were let down by the health-care system in their final days were just the kind of experiences Sholom Glouberman came to Sudbury to hear. Glouberman said he had "quite a day" Monday in Sudbury, meeting with people and trying to understand how Health Sciences North is working to engage people in a different kind of health care.
Find the full article here.
The only way to fix the problems plaguing Canada's health-care system is to involve patients in that change, says the president of the Patients' Association of Canada.
When the Canada Health Act was passed in 1984, Canadians were dying of acute and infectious diseases. Today, we die of chronic illnesses, which we can live with for years, says Sholom Glouberman. Find the full article here.
Several months ago, we introduced you to some of Alberta Health Services' (AHS) Practical Wisdom Tools on our blog. Recently, AHS got in touch to show us 9 new Practical Wisdom Tools on topics like Sharing your Healthcare Story and Emotional Care Pathways. These tools are all endorsed by the Patients' Association of Canada as practical ways to make for better healthcare experiences, and they are attached to this blog post.
This patient community website learned a lot from its members - five million posts written by the patients and caregivers in its online health community.
Catherine Cross -- The federal government is considering making adverse drug reaction reporting mandatory for doctors and other health care providers, says Health Canada.
Health Canada is concerned that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are underreported. The Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology estimates that only 5% of suspected ADRs are reported... Every year, drug distributors submit a summary of all ADR reports to Health Canada, stating whether the reported ADRs change the drug's risk-to-benefit profile.
We're back with another round of Top Reads of the Week where we highlight a few articles that we find especially interesting and relevant to the patient experience.
For the first time ever patients in the South East Local Health Integration Network have nominated physicians and a critical care team for the Patients’ Choice Award. The Patients’ Choice Award honours health-care professionals who have demonstrated exceptional care within their community.