Question

7. Please describe each national agency outlined below and how they are involved in health and health information related fields[B-6]:

a. Accreditation Canada

b. CIHR

c. CPSI

d. CIHI

e. Infoway

Answer 1

(a) Accreditation Canada is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to working with patients, policy makers and the public to improve the quality of health and social services for all.
It work to bring the best of health care from around the world home, and vice versa. It work closely with health and social services organizations in Canada and abroad to develop a sustainable culture of improvement that betters safety and efficiency, working to save and improve lives. From the standards they use to the frontline assessments they conduct and everything in between, patients and families are full partners in what they do.More than 1,000 health and social service organizations and 7,000 sites in Canada and around the world have been accredited through our programs and services, leading to safer, quality health care for those who matter most; patients and their families.Its headquartered in Ottawa (Canada).Accreditation Canada is an independent non-governmental organization that operates globally as an affiliate of Health Standard Organisation (HSO). Though they are known for assessments that drive positive change in health care and social services, we’re now working with our affiliate (HSO) to deliver more objective, credible and outcome-oriented assessment programs based on the best global standards. They are pulling the best aspects of health and social services from around the world and bringing them to their home.Through their accreditation programs, based on HSO’s best-in-class standards, Accreditation Canada helps organizations to improve safety and efficiency so they can offer the best possible quality of care. ­

(b) The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the major federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. It is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada and it's a governmental organisation. It aims to create new health knowledge and to translate that knowledge from the research setting into real world applications.
"The main purpose of this organisation is to excel according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system."
Presently CIHR is closely monitoring the evolution and impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and is taking action to support their grants, scholarships and awards recipients, as well applicants, peer reviewers and employees.

(c) The Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to raise awareness and facilitate implementation of ideas. It has a quality health care system that delivers safe and effective care to Canadians every day. ... CPSI was created to provide national leadership and coordinate the work necessary to build and advance a safer health system for Canadians.The vision statement of CPSI is to make Canada a safest place with the best health care in the world. It was established by Health Canada in 2003, the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) works with governments, health organizations, leaders, and healthproviders to inspire extraordinary improvement in patient safety and quality.
In 2002 the National Steering Committee on Patient Safety published the report Building a Safer System. The report outlined a national, integrated strategy for improving patient safety in the Canadian healthcare system which named establishing the Canadian Patient Safety Institute as its number one recommendation. As a result of that work, Health Canada supported the creation and the funding of the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.

(d) The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) is a government-controlled not-for-profit Crown corporation that provides essential information on Canada's health systems and the health of Canadians. CIHI provides comparable and actionable data and information that are used to accelerate improvements in health care, health system performance and population health across Canada.CIHI has a unique mandate to make health information "publicly available" to Canadians.
The CIHI is governed by a 16-member Board of Directors that links federal, provincial and territorial governments with non-governmental health groups. Board members represent all health sectors and regions of Canada. The membership of the Board is dominated by Deputy Ministers of Health, although it does add a small number of academics to its associates. CIHI has offices in: Toronto and Ottawa as well as branches in Montreal and Victoria.
CIHI ensures the confidentiality, integrity and availability of its health information through a comprehensive and integrated privacy and security program. Its Privacy and Security Framework outlines how the organization approaches data governance, and maintains privacy and security protection. CIHI enacts numerous policies and practices to prohibit personal identification, one key policy being strict levels of data suppression.

(e) Canada Health Infoway is an independent, federally funded, not-for-profit organization tasked with accelerating the adoption of digital health solutions, such as electronic health records, across Canada. Infoway is focused on two strategic goals:

1) Providing safer access to medications, starting with PrescribeIT, a multi-jurisdiction e-prescribing service.
2) Providing Canadians and their health care providers with access to personal health information and digital health services.

The use of digital health solutions is intended to improve access to care for Canadians, improve the efficiency of individual health care providers and make the health care system as a whole more efficient.

According to Canadian Medical Association Workforce Survey, 85 per cent of primary care providers have electronic medical records.
As of 2018, the Government of Canada has allocated $2.45 billion to Canada Health Infoway.
Canada Health Infoway's goal is to improve the patient experience in order to improve the health of populations and unlock value for the health care system. Infoway has helped fund several types of digital health solutions, such as laboratory information systems, diagnostic imaging systems, drug information systems, registries and interoperable electronic health records.
It has been reported that electronic medical records saved $1.3 billion over six years, improved chronic disease management and improved communications amongst care providers. Electronic health records, or connected health information through digital health systems such as diagnostic imaging, medication profiles, laboratory test results and other clinical reports produces $1 billion in value for the Canadian health care system every year.