Evidence Network

NAFTA re-negotiations may threaten Canada’s steps toward universal pharmacare

A version of this commentary appeared in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Life and the Huffington Post A “modernized NAFTA” has significant implications for many sectors of the economy — and health care is one of them.  What’s at stake?  Canadians’ right to universal access to affordable medicines. When negotiating with the U.S. and Mexico, Canadian […]

Reforming healthcare funding to address the needs of our aging population

Funding home care and long-term care is fast becoming the main challenge of our outdated medicare system — a system developed in the mid-twentieth century for a young population that mostly required acute care from hospitals and physicians.

What kind of health workforce will be needed to serve our aging population?

We know that Canada’s population is aging. Among the many statistics that have been reported is how in 2015, the proportion of Canadian seniors surpassed that of youth under 15 for the first time. The gap will continue to widen over the next 20 years.

Time to re-think health care policy for the elderly

As the Canadian population continues to age, there is a need to revisit conventional thinking regarding the provision of health care services for seniors to ensure that the system is sustainable for all Canadians. There are a number of misperceptions in current thinking.

Canada has mixed wait time results in healthcare

Wait times have long been a source of concern for Canadians, and in some jurisdictions, remain a significant problem. Recently the Canadian Institutes of Health Information (CIHI) released their report for 2015. There is both encouraging news and areas in need of attention.

How to make the social determinants of health matter

Recently, I was fortunate to attend the Global Symposium on the Role of Physicians and National Medical Associations in Addressing Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health held in London, England. The meeting was organized by the Canadian, British and World Medical Associations and had, among other goals, an agenda to assist public health pioneer Sir Michael Marmot in making such issues central to his upcoming role as president of the World Medical Association.

Why it is critical we learn from past healthcare mistakes

The health care system in Canada is not always perfect. Mistakes are made, but Dr. Joshua Tepper believes it is critical we learn from past healthcare mistakes in order to improve the quality of services.