‘Patients First: Action Plan for Health’ increases transparency across the health sector

#Ontario’sOpenGovernmentInitiative, #PatientsFirstActionPlanforHealthCare #EricHoskins, #BrianLewis, #PaulLirette, #GlaxoSmithKline 
 
Toronto, July 25 (Canadian-Media): Government of Ontario had started discussing with patients, health care providers, the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries,  to make their health care more open and transparent, a news release report said.

Eric Hoskins. Image credit: Twitter handle

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These consultations were part of a broader effort, continued the release, to create a more transparent government for the people of Ontario by making Ontario’s health care system accountable.

In order to get the feed back on government decision-making policies and to make them understand how the government works, Ontario is engaging with people of Ontario in different ways.  

Included in Ontario’s Open Government Initiative reportedly is provincial health government’s online data sharing so that everyone can help solve problems that affect Ontarians every day.

“We are pleased to participate in these consultations and look forward to continue engaging with the government to collaboratively explore transparency initiatives, while ensuring the growth of Ontario’s medical technology industry and increasing patient access to innovations,” said Brian Lewis, President and CEO, MEDEC.

​increased transparency -- in current regulations and guidelines for disclosing payments from the private sector, including drug companies, to health care professionals --  is mandatory to enable access additional measures needed to increase transparency in health care, continued the release.

“Our government remains steadfast in our commitment to put patients at the centre of our health care system. One way of doing this is by further strengthening transparency across the health sector. I firmly believe our system is strongest when patients and the public have full access to all relevant and appropriate information so they can make informed decisions about their health care. I look forward to insight collected from the patients, the private sector and our health care partners to determine whether additional transparency is required,” said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Currently health care providers, hospitals and researchers from the for-profit industry do not consider it essential to disclose e types of benefits they received, said the release.

“Disclosure is essential to building trust and confidence in the healthcare system. Minister Hoskins is to be commended for following through on the government's commitment to transparency and consultation. We're optimistic the Ontario consultations will be the start of a made-in-Canada solution,” said Paul Lirette, President, GSK Canada.

​On June 20, 2017, 10 brand pharmaceutical companies On June 20, 2017, said the release, including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), released aggregate Canadian data that showed they paid nearly $50 million to Canadian health-care professionals and organizations last year.

Patients in the United States, Australia and some European countries, can go online to find out how much money their health care providers have received from pharmaceutical companies.

Ontario's is making efforts to increase access to care, reducing wait times, and improving the patient experience through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care and OHIP and Children and Youth Pharmacare.

The next phase of Ontario's plan for changing and improving Ontario's health system is by following 'Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care' which puts people and patients at the centre of the system with focus on putting patients' needs first by improving their health care experience and their health outcomes.
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'Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care'  focuses on four key objectives: providing faster access to the right care; to delivering better integrated care in the community, closer to home; educating and informing people and patients about transparency to enable them in making the right decisions about their health; and Protecting our universal public health care system by making evidence based decisions on value and quality.
 
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

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