Canada Values Health

Welcome

Welcome to CanadaValuesHealth – a Health Council of Canada discussion space where YOU can share your ideas about what changes make sense for strengthening our publicly-funded health care system.

Innovations and best practices are put into action throughout the country every day, but unless people know about them and adapt them to their own communities, the result can be a collection of pilot projects instead of whole health system improvement.

Exactly what are "best practices"?

Best Practices are interventions, programs/services, strategies, or policies which have demonstrated desired changes through the use of appropriate well documented research or evaluation methodologies. They have the ability to be replicated, and the potential to be adapted and transferred. A best practice is one that is most suitable given the available evidence and particular situation or context.
In the context of population health / health promotion, such practices are used to demonstrate what works for enhancing the health status and health-related outcomes of individuals and communities, and to accumulate and apply knowledge about how and why they work in different situations and contexts. 

Taken from the Public Health Agency of Canada's Canadian Best Practices Portal for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention website...

http://cbpp-pcpe.phac-aspc.gc.ca/index-eng.html

We’re looking for approaches and solutions to real health system issues that can impact Canadians in the best possible ways. Click through to the Health Council of Canada’s virtual message board now.There you can discover and share your own ideas about what IS working and what COULD work better to improve the health of Canadians and keep our system strong, now and in the future.

This Just In...

*NEW* Generic drugs are supposed to be the cheaper alternative to brand name drugs. Yet Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world for generic drugs. We hope you’ve learned some details of the complex issues surrounding generic drugs from our paper. Give us your thoughts on our discussion page.

Does Canada need a national patient voice? Some say “yes.” Read our blog.

How important are quality interactions with your regular doctor for chronic disease care? Read the Health Council of Canada’s findings and tell others what you think.

Listen to our podcast on how the Ontario Telemedicine Network is helping Canadians deal with chronic health conditions at home.

Check out our questions on support for Canadians with chronic conditions

Health Innovation Award Winners 2010

How do you measure your quality of life? Find out about the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. Listen to our podcast with Lynne Slotek, CEO of the Institute of Wellbeing to find out more.

Interdisciplinary Teams Can Improve Patient Outcomes, Referrals, Wait Times and Access
Podcast with Dr. Calvin Gutkin, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)

Canadian Dietitians Pick Up Their PEN, a Tool for Practice-Based Evidence in Nutrition
Our podcast with Lynda Corby, Public Affairs, Dietitians of Canada explains how PEN helps dietitians provide better up-to-date advice to make your family's meals healthier.

Addressing Mental Health Within Primary Health Care Teams
Podcast with Dr. Karen Cohen, Executive Director, Canadian Psychological Association

Peer Support Mentoring Program supports brain-injured and their families
Podcast with John Kumpf, Executive Director, Ontario Brain Injury Association

Latest videos: Teams work, patients win (Peterborough, ON) and Better Health is a Community Effort (Saint John, NB)