University of British Columbia)There are more than 25 programs that the BCOHTA has a partnership with. What does this mean? It means that with theses partnerships can analyze problems that Canada is having with the current health care system. They do it in the following ways: First they provide a replicable, defensible method to determine the state of scientific knowledge in any given clinical discipline or health program. Second they can direct researchers within an institution towards significant knowledge gaps. Finally, this approach will help institutions give priority to topics with impact on patient health and health care costs, and thus serve a substantive public interest.Conclusion All of this is by no means meant to indicate that the current Canadian Health Care system is ideal. Nor does it stand to say that radical restructuring is not necessary in the evolution of Canada’s Health Care system. Rather that the restructuring necessary for the system to thrive needs to be undertaken as a holistic approach, not simply focused on cutting costs for the public sector. Cutbacks and downsizing are not the means by which to rejuvenate an ailing Canadian Health Care system. Nor is the introduction of investor-owned hospitals that strive to maximize profits, not to decrease costs. Reform and restructuring need to start at the bottom; fundamental changes need to be made in the way we view health and health care. The focus needs to continue to move away from the medical model of the past to one that promotes health and prevents illness, accommodating the needs of a changing population, while maintaining the fundamental principles of the Canada Health Act. ...
