Enhancing patient safety: A national standard for cyber resiliency in healthcare.

With support from Public Safety Canada's Cyber Security Cooperation Program, HealthCareCAN and the Digital Governance Council developed a new standard to support cyber resiliency in Canada's healthcare system. With a clear framework and enhanced cybersecurity capabilities, healthcare organizations will be better protected from cybercrime, allowing them to respond more effectively to evolving threats and defend critical infrastructure. Health and information technology leaders can derive practical guidance and next steps from this three-year national project to enhance cyber resilience and improve safety within their organizations.

The Quality Mental Health Care Network: A roadmap to improving quality mental healthcare in Canada.

Although there are numerous quality of care frameworks, little attention has been given to the essential concepts that encompass quality mental healthcare. HealthCareCAN and the Mental Health Commission of Canada co-lead the Quality Mental Health Care Network (QMHCN), which has developed a quality mental healthcare framework, building on existing provincial, national, and international frameworks. HealthCareCAN conducted an environmental scan, key informant interviews, and focus groups with individuals with lived experiences to develop the framework. This article outlines the findings from this scan, interviews and focus groups.

Access and quality of health care in Canada: Insights from 1998 to the present.

This article reviews perceptions of Canada's public and health professionals regarding access and quality of healthcare. Principal data sources were 13 sequential Health Care in Canada (HCIC) surveys, from 1998 to 2018. Over time, the data series reveals that an increasing majority of the public report receiving quality care, rising from a national average of 53% in 2002 to 61% in 2018. Regionally, the variation in quality care has been relatively narrow, ranging from 52% in the Atlantic and Prairie provinces to 65% in Ontario in 2018. Professionals' ratings for delivery of quality care in 2018 were slightly higher than the public, averaging 65% and ranging from 58% among nurses to 72% and 74% among physicians and administrators. Despite the favourable ratings received for quality of healthcare, a persistent and growing issue in all regions of the country is concern around timely access to care. In 1998, 4% of the public rated prolonged wait times as a concern; in 2018, 43% rated it as their greatest concern. Regionally, the variation in 2018 ranged from 34% in the Atlantic provinces to 49% in Alberta. This concern about timely access involves all major components of healthcare delivery and is anticipated to worsen. Proposals to improve timely access have been suggested, with interdisciplinary, team-based care being the most strongly supported proposal. The Canadian Medicare system is currently recognized as a valued component of our national identity. However, sub-optimal access continues to undermine quality of care. In the absence of improved access, healthcare quality and outcomes will also remain sub-optimal.