HESA Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion of the New Democratic Party of Canada

Libby Davies, Vancouver East; Djaouida Sellah, Saint-Bruno - Saint Hubert; Dany Morin, Chicoutimi-Le Fjord; and Matthew Kellway, Beaches-East York.

Innovation in our Public Health Care System

The New Democrat Members of the Standing Committee on Health are concerned that recommendations in the final report on Technological Innovation in Health Care do not reflect the depth of ideas shared by witnesses who testified before the Committee—particularly testimony on the need for strong federal government leadership, in working with the provinces and territories, to ensure equal access to comprehensive health and social care programs and health technologies for all Canadians.  New Democrats believe that new and effective health care technologies and innovative practices must be introduced into our public health care system, so that all applicable patients can benefit from them.

The Committee’s report excuses the lack of federal leadership in health care and minimizes the federal role.  Witnesses identified the federal government as having an important role to play in providing health technologies equitably and effectively as well as expanding innovative primary care.  Witnesses spoke to creating a national pharmacare program, establishing a national strategy for rare diseases, preventing genetic discrimination, expanding electronic health records, assisting Canadian researchers in marketing new technologies, and maintaining its funding for vital research and evaluation of health care technologies. Witnesses also asked the federal government to renew and expand the mandate of the Health Council of Canada to evaluate innovative practices and share best practices. Witnesses also suggested the federal government take the lead in developing new national HIV/AIDS screening practices and expanding harm reduction programs.  The New Democrat members of the Committee understand the importance of federal action on these issues, and recommend the following to promote innovation in public health care in Canada:

NDP Recommendations

1. The Government of Canada maintain its funding to Health Canada’s eHealth Infostructure Program.

2. Canada Health Infoway Inc. focus its efforts on promoting the automation and integration of different sectors of the health care system, such as home care, mental health services, and long-term care, into Electronic Health Record Systems across Canada.

3. Health Canada, through its eHealth Infostructure Program, prioritize the expansion of broadband networks to remote and northern First Nations and Inuit communities.

4. The Government of Canada consider providing incentives to health care organizations to promote their adoption of clinically and cost-effective health care technologies developed in Canada.

5. Health Canada in collaboration with the Networks of Centres of Excellence identify clusters of rare disease research in Canada, and consider formalizing some of them as Centres of Excellence within the Network. 

6. Health Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, implement a national strategy for screening newborns for rare diseases, identifying best practices, listing the diseases that may be detected through newborn screening, and updating this list as new tests become available.

7. Health Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, establish national standards for the treatment of rare diseases.

8. The Government of Canada introduce legislation which would protect individuals from discrimination as a result of advances in genetic testing.

9. Health Canada conduct an assessment of whether it could include non-pharmaceutical treatments such as medical devices used to treat rare diseases in the orphan drug framework or whether it could create a parallel framework for non-pharmaceutical treatments.

10. The Public Agency of Canada create a program to facilitate sharing best practices among industry, researchers, and clinicians with respect to technological innovations in chronic disease prevention and management, and to consider how these innovations can be made accessible to Canadians.

11. Health Canada, in association with the Public Health Agency of Canada, develop a framework to evaluate health apps and other self-management tools targeted at the public, and develop a means of identifying and recommending scientifically validated tools to the Canadian public.

12. Health Canada, in association with the Public Health Agency of Canada, develop a public education campaign to increase health literacy with a view to empowering patients to take steps to prevent and manage chronic illness.

13. The Government of Canada work with the provincial and territorial governments to establish a pan-Canadian prescription drug coverage plan, ensuring that all Canadians have access to equitable drug coverage and which includes a bulk purchasing component and improved drug safety measures.

14. Health Canada review its requirements for the regulation of medical devices to ensure that it is receiving sufficient data that takes into account the short and long-term health outcomes of patients, before their approval and introduction into the Canadian market.

15. The Government of Canada consider providing the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health with additional funding to scale up its efforts in the evaluation of the clinical and cost effectiveness of medical devices.

16. The Government of Canada continue to fund research and development activities, and in particular maintain its funding levels for basic research, in order to promote technological innovation in health care in Canada.

17. The Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada work together to develop voluntary guidelines for the development of intellectual property policies by academic institutions.

18. The federal provincial and territorial governments reinstate funding for and continue the existing mandate of the Health Council of Canada and broaden the current mandate of the Health Council of Canada to focus on the promotion of innovation in health care delivery.

19. The Canadian Institute of Health Information work with health care organizations, provincial and territorial governments, and other stakeholders to promote access to the data necessary to evaluate innovation in health care delivery in Canada.

20. The Government of Canada review innovative models of primary care, such as social primary care and consider ways to encourage this approach to benefit all Canadians.

21. The Pan-Canadian Public Health Network’s Communicable and Infectious Disease Steering Committee evaluate whether there is a need to develop new guidelines for generalized testing for HIV, and that the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories to develop British Columbia’s successful ‘seek and treat’ strategy at the national level.

22. The Government of Canada review successful harm reduction strategies adopted in British Columbia, and work with the provinces and territories to adopt these strategies at a national level.

23. Health Canada examine whether the membership fees and contributions associated with health co-operatives comply with the Canada Health Act.

24. The Government of Canada consider collaborating with provincial and territorial governments in the development of a data and modelling centre to monitor trends in health human resources in Canada.

It’s short-sighted to integrate technologies into our health care system while neglecting to ensure all Canadians can benefit from these innovations.  We need now, more than ever, to ensure Canadians have equal access to strong primary services and that new technologies and innovations are also introduced equitably and effectively.  The New Democratic Party, in accordance with the testimony heard from witnesses at the Standing Committee on Health, urges the federal government to take action to strengthen our public health care across Canada.