As the Canadian healthcare system continues to evolve, patient expectations soar and the patient voice becomes louder. Patients are no longer content to be passive consumers of healthcare, but demand partnership with their healthcare providers, input to the drug evaluation process, and improved navigation of the system. Participatory medicine is the name for the model of healthcare that encourages active participation from all involved parties. How do we effectively engage patients to drive participatory medicine in Canada in a meaningful and productive manner?

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I remember first year Biology at UofT . In one lab exercise we studied gaming theory to test the hypothesis that altruism benefited a population and the scientific method confirmed it was true.
Something wonky happened on the way to government policy and sadly many aspects of how we make decisions and what we consider as [...]

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We’re hearing a lot about how Canadians are demanding to be more of a partner in their own health care. For that to happen, we need a different mindset.
A quick story. After working out one day, I felt that I pulled a muscle. So when I had a physical not long after, I told my [...]

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Surviving The Perfect Storm: How Participatory Medicine & e-Patients Can Save Healthcare by Dianne Carmichael

Our nation is often defined by our passion for hockey, our taste for beer, and our universal health care system. There is little question that Canada’s hockey prowess endures; our beer remains cold. But our healthcare system? Overburdened. And totally ill prepared to endure the coming tsunami that threatens to submerge it.

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Things have changed over the last decade in Canadian health care. Focus on health promotion, quality and safety of patient care has increased. Advances have been made in diagnostic, therapeutic and information technologies. Population longevity has increased. And, publicly-funded expenditures have doubled, with disbursements to physicians, hospitals, particularly CEO salaries, and drug costs the leading [...]

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Has there been a patient revolution? More importantly, who won and was there a transfer of
power? My recent battles for patient care seem to consist mostly of “hand-to-hand” combat
and “lobbing grenades” from the trenches, and it is possible that I missed either an “armistice” or victory for patient rights.
On a regular basis, I am besieged [...]

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