Andre Picard

Leaders and #connections - Health care from an upstream & regulatory lens. Thanks Agnes Grudniewicz for including me as a Guest Lecturer in your MHA 6360 Health Care in Canada course. A Vision to Transform Canada's Public Health System, by the Public Health Agency of Canada | Agence de la santé publique du Canada, provided the framework for an amazing discourse on the upstream (salutogenesis/wellbeing) and downstream (pathogenesis) attributes for building a better system. We also discussed the role Health Canada | Santé Canada plays. I shared the organization structure, our senior officials, and clarified key concepts such as the difference between equity and equality, what it means to take a population health approach, and the importance of collaborative governance in horizontal policies. What stood out for me was the level of engagement from our future leaders. All the comments and questions were thoughtful, we all had a better understanding and appreciation of the difference between programs and projects/policies, and I left knowing that this course is going to have the same profound and positive impact that it had on me when I had the opportunity to take it not so long ago. #buildbackbetter #futureleaders #healthcarematters

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Discover the vital role of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in shaping Canada's healthcare decisions! 📊✨ Join us as we explore HTA's impact on funding, policy-making, and patient care through evidence-based evaluations. Watch now to learn how HTA drives informed, quality-focused healthcare. 🌍🏥 For more insights, read the full research paper and contact us to involve patients in HTA development here: Lopes, E., Street, J., Carter, D., Merlin, T., & Stafinski, T. (2020). Understanding Canadian Health Technology Assessment through a systems lens #HealthTechnologyAssessment #HTA #HealthcareFunding #EvidenceBased #TransparentMethods #HealthcareCanada #HTAExperts #HealthInnovation #HealthcareImprovement #ContactUs #HealthcareSupport #HealthTech #MedicalResearch #ContinuousImprovement #HTAServices #Canada

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Working to improve the lives of midwives is at the core of what we do at the Association of Ontario Midwives. Having a strong #midwifery system, like we do in Ontario, relies on midwives, in so many ways, including relying on #midwives to teach midiwfery students. After years of advocacy, the AOM has achieved an increase to preceptor stipends, the first increase in preceptor pay since 1994! Read our blog post celebrating the value of midwife #preceptors and thanks to all the midwives who teach the next generation. #closingthegenderpaygap #reproductivehealth

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Yesterday's Life Sciences breakfast exploring Toronto's Regenerative Medicine Frontier can honestly be summed up in one word - WOW. Gene therapy. Advanced AI modelling. Best in class T-cell therapy. Digital twins. Transplants that get stronger for new recipients. Organ drone delivery. It may sound like the stuff of a science fiction novel but for Toronto researchers, scientists, and health care leaders, it's just another day of work. The unbelievable innovation and development of life changing regenerative medicine coming out of our region is phenomenal. We have all the ingredients for success. We are sharing those ingredients with the world and changing the international healthcare landscape as a result. It's essential that we make the capital, talent, and commercialization investments needed to build and protect a competitive future for this critical sector. Huge thanks to the brilliant speakers who took the Toronto Region Board of Trade stage yesterday to share their jaw-dropping work. #innovation #lifesciences #futureofhealthcare #TorontoRegion

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Texts & Triumphs: Toronto Public Health's Response to the MPOX Outbreak' by Toronto Public Health triumphs the Award of Excellence for Government Communication Programs. [Alt text: On a white background, the text says, “Award of Excellence, Communication Management, Government Communication Programs”. Toronto Public Health’s logo with the text “Texts & Triumphs: Toronto Public Health's Response to the MPOX Outbreak”. On top are the logos of Ovation Awards and IABC Toronto.] #IABCTO #OVATION24

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Canada’s support for global health equity aligns with Unitaid’s integrated healthcare approach, which avoids isolated, vertical models to improve diagnostics and treatment access based on diverse regional needs. Results Canada, Global Affairs Canada | Affaires mondiales Canada

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The Public Health Agency of Canada | Agence de la santé publique du Canada is seeking self-employed Canadians touched by cancer to take part in a survey to assess cancer’s impact on financial, business, and professional well-being. This survey builds on the descriptive study conducted by Cancer and Work, which gathered insights from 23 self-employed Canadians about the impact of cancer on their personal lives, work, and businesses. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]. ➡️ Complete the survey: https://ow.ly/iHIH50RRMNO

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Some important lessons in news management and communications need to be learned by this new Labour Government if it is to get better at managing the public’s expectations in the run up to future budgets and fiscal moments.

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The new normal - responding to dis- and misinformation. Debunking and prebunking are all strategies practitioners should get familiar with!

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Excellent editorial that makes the case for change in how political leaders think and talk about health care. Canadians without access to basic primary care, those waiting record times for access to cancer care, diagnostic services and elective surgery, seniors without supports, and many others whose needs go unmet will tell you that adding or subtracting dollars from the global health budget is not the answer. Investing in approaches that deliver value in the form of measurable outcomes that matter to patients is a debate worth having. Patients and health care providers should lead it.

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With heart failure rates in Ontario projected to soar, are we ready to manage the future burden on our healthcare system? Integrated heart failure care could be the solution to streamline treatment, improve patient outcomes, and alleviate system strain. How can we make this a priority across the province? #healthsystemchange #needforchange #healteaders #heartfailure #changenow

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The #healthcare crisis in Québec is being exacerbated by a clueless Premier & his flip-flopping Coalition Avenir Quebec politicians -- and now they're launching a $60 billion per YEAR agency *without a clinician* at its helm, headed instead by someone from healthcare's *private sector*... This does not bode well; neither in my #bioethics & #healthpolicy perspective, nor as a research Patient Partner & co-author with 2 different #rarediseases + other #chronicillnesses + severe #chronicpain --- and having been on the waiting list for a family physician for years now ⏳️ "Rather than tackle these problems directly, Dubé has instead decided to create a parallel bureaucracy at a cost of $60 million. Santé Québec, headed by a non-clinician, Geneviève Biron (formerly of the family-run and private Biron Health Group), is expected to start running the province’s $60-billion-a-year health system in December. Critics have charged Dubé is effectively abdicating his responsibility to Santé Québec, which some argue will centralize the management of health care to an excessive degree. “Nicolas Machiavelli would be delighted to see that the minister is applying one of his favourite tactics: setting up an underling disguised as a lieutenant,” wrote general surgeon Saber Labidi in Le Devoir last May, alluding to Santé Québec and Biron. “This political tactic consists in strategically manipulating and using subordinates to achieve specific political or even personal objectives — getting re-elected, for example — while avoiding having to deal with the consequences of the policies implemented.” - By Aaron Derfel at the Montreal Gazette 📰 #hospitals #medicine #canadianhealthcare #patientsafety #patientsrights https://lnkd.in/e4uUQUcp

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Thanks to CIRA for inviting me to participate in such an interesting discussion on the future of the Internet.

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@PH_Comms has examples of pre- and debunking in its Public Health Communicators Guide to Misinformation. Debunking helps address misinfo already circulating, prebunking allows you to get ahead of misinfo with facts + avoid repetition of false claims. https://lnkd.in/edq2Xj59

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When language becomes a barrier to healthcare access we must transcend politics and do what is morally right. In my line of work as a #healthcare #communications strategist and advisor, I often talk about #access. Most often, the context is about drug prices and #reimbursement. My clients endeavour to ensure equitable access to novel therapies and pharmaceuticals approved in Canada. Other topics of concern include a national strategy for #rarediseases; improving the time to #diagnosis and treatment, and reducing the wait time for surgeries. Add to this meaningful support for #caregivers the unsung heroes of our health system who are at a breaking point. So when language becomes an impediment to access it makes my blood boil. Not money, not an incomplete drug submission but LANGUAGE. Imagine a healthcare worker in Quebec, second-guessing themselves in speaking to a patient in a language other than French. How about explaining a complex diagnosis and treatment plan to a young caregiver; or delivering a grim prognosis to a family? That these workers who have taken an oath to "do no harm" will fear being "outed" by a disgruntled colleague or fervent nationalist boggles the mind. Language should never come at the expense of the most vulnerable members of our community. #languagelaws #pragency #healthcarecommunications #globalhealth #QuebecLanguage https://lnkd.in/e2q766jB

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Understand the Role of AI in Delivering Better Care Dive into our newest white paper, The Role & Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Canadian Healthcare, and discover how AI can elevate patient outcomes, optimize operations, and ease the burden on clinicians. With expert opinions and strategic insights, this guide is essential for healthcare leaders aiming to successfully adopt and scale AI solutions. What You'll Find: ✔️ Key AI Applications: Explore opportunities that transform care delivery. ✔️ Implementation Strategies: Overcome common challenges with practical solutions. ✔️Expert Recommendations: Gain insights to align AI initiatives with healthcare priorities. 👉 https://hubs.li/Q02WwPJ30

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