The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI; ) is a non-profit and non-partisan organization based in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that collaborates with governments, policy makers, researchers, front-line clinicians, patients and practice leaders, as well as non-profit and professional organizations to accelerate healthcare improvements and transform Canada's

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

systems.

History

CFHI was founded in 1996 with an endowment from the Canadian federal government. Originally called the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) (the name changed in 2012), the organization was created to support evidence-informed decision-making in the organization, management and delivery of health services through funding research, building capacity and transferring knowledge. Programs such as Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) were developed and, over time, the Foundation began to evolve from an emphasis on building applied health services research to supporting the adoption of innovative practices across Canadian healthcare systems. The current President of CFHI is Maureen O'Neil, O.C., who has held the position since 2008; Dr. Lynn Stevenson, Associate Deputy Minister of Health in the B.C. Ministry of Health, is the Chair of the Board of Directors. O'Neil is also Chair of the Advisory Council on Corporate Social Responsibility of Canada's Export Development Corporation, and a member of the Board for

eHealth Ontario eHealth Ontario is the agency tasked with facilitating the development of Ontario's proposed public Electronic Health Record system. Health Informatics in Canada is run provincially, with different provinces creating different systems, albe ...

. CFHI collaborates closely with

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...

and many provincial and territorial health authorities across the country. They also support the improvement efforts of large regional agencies, such as hospitals, clinics, and community care facilities in neighbourhoods throughout Canada to accelerate healthcare improvement. Evaluation and

performance management Performance management (PM) is the process of ensuring that a set of activities and outputs meets an organization's goals in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of a whole organization, a d ...

is embedded into all collaborations as part of the CFHI mandate to make sure all programs are efficient, responsive and productive. Since 2007, CFHI has hosted an annual conference, "CEO Forum," a one-day event that brings together CEOs, senior leaders, deputy ministers and prominent experts to share their knowledge, perspective and experience on key issues in healthcare policy and management. Its 2013 CEO Forum in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

with

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...

Public Affairs was entitled, "Patient and Family-centred Care and Efficiency: Complementary Aims?" which focused on the point of care delivery.

Programs

CFHI has established a Patient Engagement program which involves senior healthcare administrators and policy-makers from across Canada, along with patients, families and caregivers, working together to improve the design, delivery and evaluation of health services, so that these services might centre on the needs of patients and families. The organization launched the Atlantic Healthcare Collaboration for Innovation and Improvement in Chronic Disease in 2012, a patient-centred approach to manage

chronic diseases A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term ''chronic'' is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three mo ...

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

. This program involves regional health authorities working together across four provinces to develop cost-effective approaches to manage chronic diseases, with the needs of patients and their families at the forefront. The CEO of

Capital District Health Authority The Capital District Health Authority (shortened to Capital Health or the Capital Health District) was the largest of the nine health authorities in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. In 2015 it was merged into the new, province-wide Nova Scotia ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, which participates in the effort, called it "one of the most important healthcare collaborations ever to take root" in the region. The organization has also partnered with the Department of Health and Social Services in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

to create an approach to manage chronic diseases, with a focus on diabetes, renal disease and mental illness, that is integrated, territory-wide and culturally appropriate.

Fellowships and Training

CFHI's flagship fourteen month leadership development program is the Executive Training for Healthcare Improvement program. Groups of health professionals working in senior management positions, including doctors and nurses in executive positions, can apply for the fellowship, which offers training in implementation of research evidence and skills development to improve their organizations. EXTRA is supported by a number of partnering organizations, including the

Canadian Nurses Association The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), known in French as the Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada (AIIC), is the national professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners, licensed and registered pra ...

and the

Canadian Medical Association The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; french: Association médicale canadienne, AMC) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive ch ...

. In conjunction with the

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, includ ...

, CFHI provides funding for a Canadian to participate in the Harkness Fellowship Award with colleagues from other countries. The award is geared to mid-career researchers, policy makers, journalists and others to spend a year conducting a research study on a health policy topic in the United States in consultation with a mentor who is an expert in the field. The Naimark Fellow Award is named after Dr.

Arnold Naimark Arnold Naimark (born August 24, 1933) is a Canadian physician, academic, and former President of the University of Manitoba. Biography Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he received a B.Sc.Med. degree in 1957, a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1957, and a ...

, and is awarded annually to health services leaders who demonstrate professional excellence and outstanding achievement in healthcare improvement. CFHI's annual Excellence Through Evidence Award recognizes a health services leader who has successfully implemented evidence-informed innovations in care and service delivery. OnCall is CFHI's regular webinar series which has run for more than six years, and focuses on health systems transformation, patient and citizen engagement, population needs and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

Select Publications

*An Innovative Strategy in Organizational Transformation: Creating and Implementing a Transition Support Office Within a University Health Centre *Knowledge in Action: Healthcare Management and Governance Innovation Lab *Accelerating Healthcare Improvement in Canada: A Review of Policy Options to Sustain, Improve and Transform Healthcare *Funding Health and Social Care in Montréal, Québec: A Review of the Methods and the Potential Role of Incentives *Reviewing the Potential Roles of Financial Incentives for Funding Healthcare in Canada *Strengthening Primary Health Care Through Primary Care and Public Collaboration *A Comparative Study of Three Transformative Healthcare Systems: Lessons for Canada *On-going Mythbusters series challenging widely held beliefs about the Canadian healthcare system with current evidence, translated into multiple languages

Select Partner Organizations

*Canadian College of Health Leader

*Northwest Health and Social Service

*Northshore Tribal Counci

*

EvidenceNetwork.ca EvidenceNetwork.ca creates media content on public policy topics for publication in the mainstream media and links journalists with policy experts to provide access to non-partisan, evidence-based information. According to their annual reports, ...

*Initiative sur le partage des connaissances et le développement des compétence

* Capital District Health Authority, Capital Health *Institut national de santé publique du Québe

*Canadian Patient Safety Institut

References