The Future is NOW

In September 2016 an independent, progressive think tank Canada 2020 hosted a summit on health in Ottawa. The purpose of Canada 2020 gatherings, irrespective of the topic-select is to start conversations about Canada’s future. At their Health Summit in 2016 ministers, including Jane Philpott (then Liberal, Minister of Health) presented along with other industry and government experts making predictions on the direction of healthcare in Canada that we are now seeing come into action three years later under the leadership of a Conservative provincial government. In the report from the Health Summit the future in health would be (Tam, 2016):

Focused on an aging population; keeping them working longer and healthy longer. Moving health care out of the hospitals and more in to the communityCareful eyes on privatizing Viewing the patient as a partner in health care, allowing them access and choice/inputTracking healthcare by outcomes rather than pay for serviceMoving from disease management to disease prevention Moving linked care (caring in silos) to integrated care

Today, three years later, we are in the middle of a major healthcare reform in Ontario. A reform that is larger and at a faster pace than anything we have seen before in this province. No longer are the players allowed to play as individuals, fighting for their part of the provincial health dollars, they are being forced to choose teams (the new Ontario Health Teams) and work together with the patients and their families to allocate funds across a continuum of care. This change is supposed to make better use of our healthcare dollars, focus on learning from each other and ensure that patients don't get lost in the system (LaFleche, G, 2019). One of the big questions though is who is going to be ultimately in charge of the purse and setting the rules? Will these teams give fair representation to the smaller organization or will the decisions be made by the larger hospitals and facilities leaving the others to follow their standards and policies? Will this new process in fact include the patients and families? The answers, we don’t know. Not even the Premier’s office can answer these questions, but what they are telling us is: eHealth and patients participating in their care rather than being backseat passengers is the goal. The picture of healthcare will be one of a story instead of several separate vignettes- the beginning, middle and end will have to be better connected. We are going to be looking, all be it more focused on some areas then others, on disease prevention before management; and the community is going to be a significantly more important part of the story than previously—because people are going to be sent home to complete their care reducing the length of hospital admissions.

This all sounds very patient centred and fiscally responsible, as we all understand resources and budgets are finite—but at this pace can we be sure that no one gets left behind? The Ontario Nurses Association (ONA) is speaking out and suggests that it is a `prescription for disaster’ leaving so many of the details and moving parts for everyone else to sort out (LaFleche, 2019).

The article I found summarizing the provincial healthcare reform indicates the future is now, but we still don’t know what that means even though it’s happening as we speak.

Tam, P. (2015 December 23) Canada 2020 Health Summit Report. Retrieved from http://canada2020.ca/canada-2020-health-summit-report/

LaFleche, G. The Hamilton Spectator. How Ontario's new regional health teams will operate is anyone's guess in `low rules environment' (2019). Retrieved from https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9510864-how-ontario-s-new-regional-health-teams-will-operate-is-anyone-s-guess-in-low-rules-environment-/