OTTAWA, Sept. 22, 2015 /CNW/ - The Canadian Physiotherapy Association joins other members of Canada's Health Action Lobby (HEAL) to remind federal leaders that Canadians want government to make the challenges facing our health-care system a priority. Public opinion research consistently reveals that Canadians care deeply about finding the sustainable and cost-effective options that will enhance our national health. And healthy Canadians make for a healthy and competitive economy. Yet, to date, policy debates associated with the 2015 federal election have rarely focused on health care.
Through its Consensus Statement entitled The Canadian Way - Accelerating Innovation and Improving Health System Performance, HEAL has issued a call to action to governments at all levels, contending that an effective health system depends on enhanced collaboration among all levels of government. HEAL also expects the federal government to re-assert its legitimate and facilitative leadership role.
For its part, the Canadian Physiotherapy Association calls for federal leadership in health care by encouraging system-wide innovation and capacity building that will advance the health of Canadians by improving access to care that is evidence-based and cost-effective.
A federal health innovation fund is an opportunity that will provide much needed resources to scale up solutions, such as using robotic technologies to improve primary physical therapy access in rural and remote communities.
In 2014, Stacey Lovo Grona launched an interprofessional spinal triage assessment using robotic technology in Pelican Narrows, a remote northern Saskatchewan Indigenous community.
Dr. Linda Woodhouse, CPA President, celebrates the work of Lovo Grona and her team stating, "This is the kind of innovation that can lead to great advances in health care and access to rehabilitation in Canada's remote, rural and northern communities. Unfortunately, we need a system that gets successful projects through the innovation gap."
HEAL is a coalition of 39 national health and consumer associations and organizations dedicated to protecting and strengthening Canada's health system. Created in 1991, and representing more than 650,000 health-care providers and Canada's largest health organizations, the major focus of HEAL's activities has been on the federal role in health and health care. The Canadian Way Consensus Statement calls for health sector reform and funding initiatives grounded in compassion, consensus, and collaboration.
SOURCE Canadian Physiotherapy Association
Image with caption: "Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CNW Group/Canadian Physiotherapy Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150922_C4333_PHOTO_EN_502950.jpg
Media Contacts: For the Health Action Lobby, Lisa Robertson: 613-739-7032, [email protected]; Susan Wright: 519-703-2020, [email protected]; www.healthactionlobby.ca, @CanadaHEAL, Read The Canadian Way at http://tinyurl.com/q3c7gyl; For the Canadian Physiotherapy Association, www.physiotherapy.ca, @PhysioCan, Jamie Noonan: 613-564-5454 x222, [email protected]
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