Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
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36<br />
<strong>Health</strong> systems in transition <strong>Canada</strong><br />
While CBS’s board members are nominated by P/T ministers of health, civil<br />
servants are not permitted on the board. Quebec is not a participating member of<br />
CBS and instead has it own blood products and services agency – Héma-Québec.<br />
F/P/T governments collaborate extensively with civil society partners in<br />
a number of other pan-Canadian health initiatives, including the Canadian<br />
Partnership Against Cancer Corporation and the Pan-Canadian Public <strong>Health</strong><br />
Network. Through the Council of the Federation, provincial and territorial<br />
governments recently created a <strong>Health</strong> Care Innovation Working Group made<br />
up of all P/T ministers of health. In 2012, this Working Group was mandated to<br />
examine human resources management, provider scope of practice and clinical<br />
practice guidelines in order to identify and learn from innovative initiatives<br />
in <strong>Canada</strong>.<br />
2.3.4 Nongovernmental national agencies and associations<br />
Canadian health care programmes and policies are highly influenced by<br />
a number of nongovernmental organizations including health services<br />
associations, professional organizations such as regulatory bodies, protective<br />
associations, trade unions, industry associations, and patient and disease<br />
advocacy associations. Many are organized as provincial associations – one<br />
study found that there were 244 such organizations operating in Ontario<br />
alone (Wiktorowicz et al., 2003). A number of these provincial bodies have<br />
national umbrella organizations that play an important role in facilitating and<br />
coordinating the memberships’ pan-Canadian initiatives. Some of the larger or<br />
more influential of these national organizations are described below.<br />
Accreditation <strong>Canada</strong> is a voluntary, nongovernmental organization that<br />
accredits hospitals, health facilities and RHAs. Funded by the organizations<br />
it accredits, Accreditation <strong>Canada</strong> also conducts reviews and assessments<br />
of health facilities and regional health systems with recommendations <strong>for</strong><br />
improvements. First established in 1958, Accreditation <strong>Canada</strong> has expanded its<br />
mandate beyond acute care hospitals to psychiatric facilities (1964), long-term<br />
care institutions (1978), rehabilitation facilities (1985), community-based<br />
health services (1995) and home care services (1996). 2 There has been some<br />
debate in <strong>Canada</strong> as to whether accreditation should be made compulsory,<br />
and two provinces – Quebec and Alberta – have moved to mandatory<br />
accreditation with a third – Manitoba – considering a similar change (Nicklin,<br />
2 Accreditation <strong>Canada</strong>’s name changes reflect its expanding mandate: in 1958, it was first incorporated as the<br />
Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation; 30 years later (1988), the name was changed to the Canadian Council<br />
on <strong>Health</strong> Facilities Accreditation; in 1995, it was reincorporated as the Canadian Council on <strong>Health</strong> Services<br />
Accreditation; and finally, in 2008, it became Accreditation <strong>Canada</strong>.