We are an independent policy think tank, intent on changing the health-care debate, health-care practice and the health-care experience in Ontario.

 

2010-2013 Strategic Plan

The change that's needed won't come easily or quickly to health care. And it won't come at all if we don't change the debate, change the practice, change the experience.
The Change Foundation Strategic Plan, 2010 – 2013

Hearing the stories, changing the story tilts focus onto improving the experience of individuals/caregivers crisscrossing Ontario's health-care system

The Change Foundation today officially released its 2010-2013 strategic plan, Hearing the stories, changing the story, and announced its new goal -- to improve the experience of individuals and caregivers as they move in, out of, and across the health-care system over time as their health changes.

"A high-performing health system understands, measures and responds to the patient experience. That should be front and centre in any health-care reform – not just symbolically, but substantively," said Change Foundation Chair Scott Dudgeon as he launched the plan at the 2010 Meeting of the Minds, Redesigning Health Services with Patients Top of Mind.

"And yet too often patients' perspectives and their experiences get overlooked, crowded out by other interests and imperatives. Instead of being shuffled back and forth, people need to be connected to quality care and support wherever they are, clear about whom to turn to and talk to, assured of what comes next. That's why The Change Foundation has set its sights on improving people's experiences as they move through Ontario's health-care system," said Dudgeon.

Change Foundation CEO Cathy Fooks explained that over the next three years, the Foundation and its partners will listen to the lived realities of caregivers and their loved ones who need help and health care. "We'll hear – and heed – what their experience tells us must be done. We'll engage with the stewards, stakeholders and users of our health-care system, sharing what we've learned on the ground, using evidence, analysis and argument to bring about change," she said.

The Foundation's work on improving the health-care experience of individuals and their caregivers will fortify – and be fortified by – its previous plan, Contemplating the way we change, Changing the way we think, which focused on the need for a more integrated health-care system in Ontario. The Foundation's Who is the Puzzle maker? report revealed a rallying cry from patients and caregivers calling for a less fragmented and more user-friendly health-care system.

Understanding people's interactions with the health-care system can help us ask the right questions about policy, practice, process, design, culture, and behaviour, said Fooks.

• How can the process for providing and connecting health care be redesigned to yield better experiences and outcomes for people, especially at difficult transition points?
• How can health-care users be involved in a meaningful way - with their perspectives and experience taken into account - when changes are being contemplated, conceived and introduced?
• How much impact do factors such as respect, empathy, fairness, convenience and preferences have on people's health-care experience?

The plan has three strategic directions, with accompanying projects and participatory approaches:

• Listen and Learn: We will learn from the experience of individuals and caregivers at key transition points in the system and over time.
• Incubate and Innovate: We will scout for, incubate and create innovative solutions to address key problematic transitions in health-care delivery.
• Advice and Advance: We will promote system-level adoption of innovations to improve the individual and caregiver experience through greater health system integration.

The Foundation will get to work at once on what will be one of its signature products for the coming three years – a provincial patient/caregiver experience survey that will assess and compare experiences across communities. First up will be finding partners and designing the tool, with input from patients and caregivers and associated groups as well as planners and providers.

Developing the plan – with a little help from our friends
The Change Foundation had input from an august group of thinkers and doers who served as a sounding board through a thorough consultation. To help us delineate our work in relation to other efforts underway in the health-care community, we conducted an environmental scan of trends and activities related to person-centred and integrated care, quality and innovation, equity and population health.

On board – two new members
The Foundation will also be getting even more bench strength with the welcome addition of two new high-profile and highly skilled board members: Vivek Goel, President and CEO of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, and Ron Sapsford, former Ontario Deputy Minister of Health, joined The Change Foundation Board June 10. They replace former board members Dr. David Walker, former Queens University Dean David Walker, and Glenda Yeates, Deputy Minister of Health Canada. See who else is on board.

Get involved. By hearing your stories we can change the story:
Go to our Strategic Plan 2010-2013 page: www.changefoundation.ca/stratplan2010.html

Read Hearing the stories, changing the story (long version & summary version).

Read our Environmental Scan.

Take our surveys which will be posted in early summer.

• What do you think of our new plan?
• Does it reflect your needs and experiences as a patient, caregiver, provider or planner?
• Have we missed anything?

Tell us:

• How would you prefer to share your ideas about easing the challenge of health-care navigation?
• How can we make your exchanges with us as meaningful as possible? How would you like to interact with us?
• Do you have something to contribute to helping us understand and improve your health-care experiences moving around the system -- or those of your loved ones?
• Would you like to stay connected to The Change Foundation and provide ongoing input into our projects to improve health-care experiences in Ontario?
• Would you like a Change Foundation representative to speak to your organization?
  
  Email us at TalkToUs@changefoundation.ca

Learn more: www.changefoundation.com
The Change Foundation is an independent policy think tank intent on changing the health-care debate, health-care practice and the health-care experience in Ontario. A charitable foundation established in 1996 and funded through an endowment, The Change Foundation leads and leverages research, policy analysis, quality improvement and strategic engagement to enable a more integrated health-care system designed with individuals and caregivers top of mind.