Last October, the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) published new guidelines aimed at modernizing Canada’s pricing framework for patented medicines. The guidelines and regulations are the culmination of a five-year process that began in 2016 and the regulations are currently scheduled to be implemented on July 1, 2021. What changes in the Canadian pharmaceutical market drove these reforms? What goals is the Board looking to achieve through these forthcoming changes? What does “succes...
Mar 03, 2021•39 min•Ep. 12
2020 will undoubtedly be remembered as a challenging year for Canada’s health care system. From hospital capacity challenges to the realities of staff burnout, all facets of the health sector have been impacted by COVID-19 in some shape or form. Despite a turbulent year, there are positive examples across the country of initiatives, successes and wins within our health care system. Physician Assistants, who play an integral role in a strong and sustainable Canadian health care system, are one su...
Dec 07, 2020•24 min•Ep. 11
Like many jurisdictions in Canada, Ontario is struggling to regulate health professionals in a way that both protects patients and the public, but also provides flexible oversight to ensure health professionals are able to exercise their full scope of practice including their depth of knowledge, specific skill set and professional judgement. In this episode, Harry Cayton, former Chief Executive of the U.K.'s Professional Standards Authority joins Ian Chesney to discuss regulated health professio...
Nov 16, 2020•19 min•Ep. 10
It’s been one week since Governor General Julie Payette delivered the Speech from the Throne, opening Parliament with a significant commitment to long-term care. But what now? What will the national standards for long-term care mean for operators and, most importantly, residents and staff? In this episode, Jodi Hall, Chair of the Canadian Association for Long Term Care (CALTC), joins Patrick Nelson to discuss what role the federal government can play in supporting Canada's seniors and how the cu...
Oct 01, 2020•15 min•Ep. 9
The Ontario Long Term Care Association’s Wave 2 Action Plan for long-term care consists of 11 elements that aim to ensure long-term care homes have what they need moving forward to prevent and contain COVID-19. In this episode, Donna Duncan, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA), joins Patrick Nelson to look back at lessons learned from the first wave of the pandemic and look forward to the measures needed to protect Ontario’s seniors and those who care for th...
Sep 14, 2020•29 min•Ep. 8
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges and, at the same time, a unique opportunity to embrace digital health solutions. Responding to COVID-19 requires swift and innovative thinking, and although digital health has been on governments’ radars for decades, progress has been slow. Is the pandemic an opportunity to address the longstanding gaps in health technology? Will it motivate governments to procure and distribute innovation more efficiently? Or will buy in become a grea...
Aug 31, 2020•39 min•Ep. 7
On July 8, the federal Liberal government updated the country on Canada’s finances. This fiscal snapshot was unlike any other as it arrived after four months of reactionary spending as the Trudeau Government responded to COVID-19. As the government moves beyond the emergency phase of its response and into a new recovery phase, what can we expect next? Will we see the budget originally drafted for March of this year make its way to the House this fall? Does the government have the confidence of t...
Jul 09, 2020•34 min•Ep. 6
Building capacity in Ontario’s hospitals has been a core pillar in the province’s COVID-19 response. More than three months after the provincial government declared a state of emergency, the question is, how are our hospitals holding up? How are they navigating this next — somewhat uncertain — phase in Ontario’s health care transformation plans? In this episode, Dr. Naveed Mohammad, President and CEO of William Osler Health System, sits down with Dan Carbin to discuss system capacity, health equ...
Jun 29, 2020•24 min•Ep. 5
Almost a year and a half ago, Ontario introduced its large-scale plan to integrate health care providers with the goal of creating a patient focused and streamlined system. However, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province just a few months after the first Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) were announced in December 2019. In this episode, Keltie Gale, Senior Consultant at Santis Health, and Susan Fitzpatrick explore what Ontario's health transformation agenda might look like with the pressures of COVID-...
Jun 15, 2020•22 min•Ep. 4
We know older adults are at a higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 — so why are we seeing outbreaks in senior populations? In this episode, Dan Carbin and Dr. Samir Sinha explore the systemic vulnerabilities and the “double standard” in curbing the spread of COVID-19. Dr. Samir Sinha is a longtime advocate for the needs of older adults. He currently serves as the Director of Geriatrics at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto and as the P...
Apr 11, 2020•29 min•Ep. 3
In this episode, we called Physician Assistant and former journalist, Maureen Taylor, to discuss the lessons learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak and how Canada is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic 17 years later. Maureen Taylor is a Physician Assistant specializing in infectious diseases at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto. She has worked at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as a Physician Assistant in Emergency Medicine, and was named Physician Assistant of the Year by the Canadian Associat...
Mar 24, 2020•23 min•Ep. 2
Veronica Said, a Consultant at Santis Health, sits down with Dr. Sarah Jarmain and Adrienne Spafford to discuss Roadmap to Wellness , the Ontario Government's recently announced mental health and addictions strategy. In this episode, we discuss the current state of addictions and mental health care in Ontario, what the strategy gets right, where the strategy could improve and how the sector is responding. Dr. Sarah Jarmain, MD, FRCPC is the Site Chief Mental Health Care, Chair Medical Advisory C...
Mar 14, 2020•30 min•Ep. 1
