Government of Canada supports new eHealth research projects to empower patients and enable better health care Français
Twenty-two projects funded across the country for youth mental health and for seniors with complex care needs
OTTAWA, March 3, 2016 /CNW/ - The Minister of Health, Jane Philpott, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains, and the Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan, today announced $13.8 million in funding for 22 innovative eHealth projects.
In recent years, the field of eHealth has moved beyond basic electronic medical record databases. Today, eHealth innovations use sophisticated technology to create greater efficiency within the health care system, improved patient experience, and better coordination across different levels of care. Canada has the talent, the intelligence, and the passion to become a world leader in the field of eHealth.
The 22 research projects focus on youth mental health and on seniors with complex care needs at home, and truly highlight the remarkable degree of Canadian creativity and tech savviness.
From the development of an app to enhance Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for youth being treated for anxiety and depression, to programs that allow doctors and nurses to monitor the health of seniors in the comfort of their homes – these projects will help to empower patients to be partners in their health care, support better health outcomes, and accelerate innovation in Canada's health system and growing health information technology (IT) industry.
Quotes
"I am excited to see Canadian ingenuity at work to support the health of Canadians. These projects have the potential to make high quality mental health services more available to the young Canadians who need them, and they are also making great strides for the delivery of increased home care services. We have the talent, the intelligence and the passion in Canada to make the field of eHealth one of our (many) strengths."
Honourable Jane Philpott
Minister of Health
"The funding announced today is an excellent example of how the Government of Canada is supporting innovation, scientific research and entrepreneurship. Innovation in the health sector can help improve the patient experience while also keeping costs low. Canadian technology companies have a lot to offer for our health care system, and I am glad to see Canadian academia, industry and patients working together to deliver better outcomes using new technologies."
Honourable Navdeep Bains
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
"I am pleased that the National Research Council of Canada is working with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to improve health care in our country. The technologies and services they develop in the field of e-health will improve the well-being of Canadians and provide affordable alternatives, particularly for youth and seniors."
Honourable Kirsty Duncan
Minister of Science
"Canada has no shortage of innovative health care thinkers, top-notch health researchers or vibrant entrepreneurs. Through eHIPP, these great minds are coming together to deliver creative eHealth solutions for some of our country's most pressing health care needs. I am particularly proud of the ways in which these projects put patients first, often by empowering them to be partners in their own care."
Dr. Alain Beaudet
President, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Quick Facts
- The 22 research projects are funded through the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) eHealth Innovation Partnership Program.
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Backgrounder
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research(CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research investment agency. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to enable its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system for Canadians. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
Backgrounder
eHealth Innovation Partnership Program
The field of eHealth includes health services and information delivered or enhanced through the Internet and related technologies. eHealth offers promising opportunities to improve the accessibility, coordination and affordability of health care.
To benefit from these opportunities, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) developed the e-Health Innovation Partnership Program (eHIPP) in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP).
The program is designed to stimulate collaborations between health researchers and Canadian innovative technology companies. By bringing academia and industry together, eHIPP is ensuring that eHealth innovations are being co-developed, tested with the people who will need them, and evaluated for their cost-effectiveness.
Through e-HIPP, CIHR and partners —including organizations from the private, public, and non-profit sectors—have funded 22 projects: 8 focused on youth mental health and 14 focused on seniors with complex care needs in their homes.
About 1.2 million Canadian youth and adolescents are estimated to have mental health problems, while as many as 1 in 5 people experience mental health problems in any given year. The direct costs to our economy are in excess of $50 billion per year, with indirect financial and social costs many fold higher.
Older adults prefer to age at home, and, when ill, typically prefer home environments to hospital stays wherever feasible and appropriate. eHealth solutions can facilitate many aspects of home-based care for seniors, offering promising opportunities to improve the coordination of care and alternatives to costly care solutions.
CIHR is providing a total of $13.8M to support these 22 projects. An additional $32M is being provided by partners.
NRC-IRAP is Canada's premier innovation assistance program for Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, helping them to turn ideas into commercial success, through business advice, technical assistance, funding and professional linkages.
Funded Projects
- List of projects focused on youth mental health
- List of projects focused on seniors with complex care needs in their homes
SOURCE Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Andrew MacKendrick, Office of the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; David Coulombe, Media Relations, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 613-941-4563, [email protected]
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